Manicurist
by Lyricism
Summary: AU. When Kisame comces to yet another new school, the last thing he wants is to get noticed. But when a kid named Itachi refuses to leave him alone, will Kisame forge something emotional, or just get annoyed to hell?
1. The First Day

Woot! Another serial fic. I promise this one will be a bit more punctual than the last. Akatsuki fangirl's honor.

Anyway, this is an AU, sort-of KisaIta fic, but not really. You have been warned.

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A thirteen-year-old Kisame took a deep breath as he stood outside of his homeroom at his new school. _Oh God, another school, _he said to himself. _It's like jail, except with more pencils. _Sighing again, he made his way into the room. _This could be either way better than the last time or way worse. Guess I'll just have to wait and find out. _

Scanning the class for an empty seat, he noticed that the students were sitting at tables, which sat two each, instead of the normal desks. _Great, so I _can't _avoid talking to someone, _he thought, as he made his way to the back of the room where an empty chair was located next to a boy with long, raven-colored hair tied back into a neat ponytail, sunken-in eyes, and black irises. Granted, this kid didn't seem too overjoyed that Kisame was coming his way, but the kid's emotionless stare was way more appealing than the odd looks that Kisame was getting from the others in the room.

Dropping his books down onto the table space in front of the empty seat, he sat down and started flipping through the new assignment book the people at the school office had given him. _I don't even use these things, why do I need to carry one around? _Kisame asked himself, finding the date. Folding down the edge of the page, he noticed that they boy he was sitting next to was staring at him.

Turning his head, Kisame flashed a quick, non-toothed smile. "Hey," he said, hoping that the boy next to him wouldn't start a conversation or something. Kisame wasn't antisocial; he was, however, reluctant to get comfortable somewhere. Lord knows he'd have to move again in a couple weeks anyway.

"Hey," the other guy said, returning the greeting. He blinked. "You're new, right?"

"Yeah…."

"So, where ya from?" he asked in a monotone.

Kisame sighed. "I've lived in a lot of different places, but I was born in Japan," he answered reluctantly. "Before here, I was in New York City."

The black-haired kid looked to the front of the class. "New York, eh? I've been there. Nice place, if you stay out of the projects."

Kisame gave a slight nod. "Yeah, I guess."

The kid paused. "You're Japanese too, right? Which part?" he asked, turning to face Kisame.

Kisame let out a silent grunt. Who did this guy think he was? It was none of his business where Kisame was from. "The eastern part, I guess. You?"

Black-Hair turned away again. "Central, if you want to put it in directions." Glancing back, his eyes seemed to flash red for a second. "Name's Itachi."

Kisame blinked in confusion. Okay, so now this guy thought it was okay just to introduce himself? Egomaniac. "Kisame," he replied in a flat tone.

Itachi nodded. After a moment of silence, he inquired, "You _are _aware that you're blue, right?" referring to Kisame's blue-tinted skin.

"No, I just wonder why people always play that damn "I'm Blue" song whenever I walk into a room, and I wonder why people stare at me, and I wonder why I'm a social outcast pretty much anywhere I go," he retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Point taken," Itachi answered. "So, how'd it get that way?"

"Uh, that's really none of your business."

The other boy let out a blink-and-you-miss-it smile. "Let me guess," he started, "they filled a pool with blue paint that looked just like the normal water would have, and you unknowingly jumped into it and painted yourself, and the paint hasn't come out?"

Oh, so now this kid could just make guesses about stupid things that don't matter? "No," Kisame lied.

Itachi's smile stretched a couple more seconds. "You're a very bad liar, Kisame," he said.

So what if the stupid long-haired fag had guessed correctly at why Kisame was blue? That didn't give him bragging rights. "What makes you think I'm lying?"

"Because you're blushing with embarrassment." With that said, Itachi broke out into laughter, trying desperately to cover it up by putting his hand in front of his face. Kisame noticed that each fingernail had been painted a medium, matte purple.

_Oh, so now I'm getting ridiculed by pansy faggots? What has this world come to? _he asked himself rhetorically.

The guy's laughter subsided, leaving him with his composed attitude once more. "That must suck," he said insincerely.

"Yeah, I guess."

------

In Kisame's first period class, art, he was surprised to find that Itachi was there, sitting a few tables away from him. _What, he doesn't think annoying me in homeroom is good enough? Needs to follow me? _Kisame thought, irritated.

Then, in his second period English class, he saw Itachi sitting in the front row of desks, by the windows. _Oh, come on! Now you're in my second period, too?!_

Things didn't get better when third period reading rolled around, since the raven-haired kid was in that class, too.

Kisame lost it fourth period, though, when he found out that he had to sit next to Itachi. _God damn it, is he TRYING to annoy the hell out of me?_ Kisame almost yelled out. His eyes widened. _Or maybe he's STALKING me. Oh God, please don't let it be that, _he prayed.

At the end of fourth period, Kisame was determined to not run into Itachi until the end of the day. Of course, fate would not let that happen.

While on his way to the band room, where Kisame had fifth period, he literally _ran into _Itachi. "Hey, what the hell?!" he yelled as he involuntarily dropped his books.

The other boy, who had been knocked over by the crash, got up and gathered his stuff. "Well, it's not my fault that you can't watch where you're going- oh, it's you, Kisame," he said. "Just the person I wanted to see. Come on, you're going to band, right? I'll introduce you to the band teacher."

_What makes you think I _want _to met the damn band teacher, anyway? Maybe I'd just _rather _not know him and just-_

"Okay, Kisame, this is Mr. Zete. Mr. Zete, this is Kisame, the new student," Itachi said as the both of them walked into the band room.

Mr. Zete turned around to face the blue-skinned kid. "I'm Mr. Zete," he started, "and I'm going to be your band teacher." The crazy guy had frizzy brown hair and plastic neon blue-rimmed glasses.

_No shit. _"Er, hello," Kisame said politely. If there was one thing that Kisame _was _good at, it was being polite, even when he wanted to rip the other person's throat out.

"You're a sax player, right?" Mr. Zete continued. "You can go sit with your section, though you don't seem to have your instrument with you…"

Kisame let the teacher trail off as he pulled up a chair at the end of the saxophone row.

------

All through class, Kisame could tell that the person sitting next to him was staring at him. But, whenever Kisame glanced over to see if he was or not, the person would just look away.

During Mr. Zete's ramble about how fun his Disney trip was, the kid who was supposedly staring at Kisame finally got the courage to speak up.

"Uh, dude, you know that you're _blue, _right?"

"No shit."

Offset by Kisame's rudeness, he stuck his tongue out at him. "Freak," he said, returning to playing.

Ten minutes to the bell, Mr. Zete clapped his hands twice. "Done for the day, guys. Pack up!"

Kisame looked around. People were taking apart their various instruments, folding their stands up, and storing both on the left-hand side of the room. Since he hadn't brought anything that needed to be put away, Kisame put his books on his lap and took out the half sheet of paper that was his schedule.

_Lunch next? _He thought. _Wonder where I'll-_

Kisame's thought was interrupted by Itachi, who had sat down beside him.

"That your schedule?" he asked in his monotone.

"Yeah, why?"

"Can I see?" Itachi asked, pulling the half sheet from Kisame's hands. He obviously wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

After a few seconds of silence, the black-haired kid blinked. "We have the exact same schedule," he said, breaking the silence.

Kisame forced a smile. "Eh, yeah….crazy, huh?"

"Need help finding the cafeteria?" Itachi inquired.

"Er, sure, I guess……."

The monotone kid let out another second-long smile. "Cool. Just follow me when the bell sounds."

------

Kisame reluctantly followed Itachi to the lunch room, wondering why the quiet kid was so willing to help him out. _He probably just wants something from me, _he thought. _That's what they all want, something that they can benefit from………_

He glanced around the cafeteria the same way that he had at the beginning of homeroom, hoping to find somewhere out-of-the-way.

"Hey, Kisame," Itachi called, "are you going to sit with me?"

Kisame examined Itachi's facial expression. If Itachi was just inviting him to be polite, or if he honestly wanted to sit with Kisame, he wouldn't know by looking at his (Itachi's) face. "If you want me to, why not……" he replied uncertainly.

"Good. Follow me," Itachi instructed.

_What is with this kid and having people follow him? _Kisame wondered.

------

Itachi plopped his books down at a table in the very far right-hand corner of the cafeteria. There were at least six other tables around, but no one was sitting at any of them.

"Um, Itachi, are we allowed to sit here?" Kisame asked, as he carefully put his books down.

"Of course. If we weren't, we wouldn't be sitting here," he replied in a flat tone.

Kisame looked around at the rest of the cafeteria, which seemed very far away. "And you normally sit here by yourself?"

Itachi nodded. "I don't like being amongst a lot of people, so the teachers let me sit here," he explained.

"Don't you ever get lonely? I mean, watching everyone else socialize while you're all the way over here…"

Itachi grunted (if you could call a slight 'hm' a grunt). "No. Unlike most of the people that go to this school, I'd rather spend my time with one person who can hold their own in an intelligent conversation than be around ten people who can't spell 'angst.'"

"Er, okay….."

------

After the two had gotten their food and started eating, Itachi persisted with asking Kisame questions and unknowingly angering him.

"You're teeth are pointed," he said as Kisame bit into a forkful of mashed potatoes. "Did you file them or something?"

Kisame sighed, as there was no getting around a straightforward question like that. "No, I didn't file them, they're just naturally like that."

Itachi blinked. "Okay, then what about the bandages? The ones on your cheeks?"

Kisame dropped his fork involuntarily at this statement. "What the hell do you care?" he asked sourly. He had almost forgotten the cloth bandages that he usually wore draped over his cheeks and jawbones, hiding his V-shaped scars. The scars which had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

"Just curious," the other boy replied quietly. "They're too lose to have and medicinal value-"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU CARE IF I HAVE BANDANGES ON MY FACE??!! IT'S ABSOLUTELY NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!" Kisame yelled, standing up and leaning over the table, as if to throttle Itachi.

Itachi leaned back to avoid Kisame's attempt at strangling him. "I told you, I was just curious," he said in his signature monotone. "Sorry."

Kisame sat down, and a vein appeared on his forehead. "If you're so sorry, then why doesn't it sound like you mean it? Know why? 'Cuz you're obviously not."

"No, I mean it," Itachi retorted. "I always talk in a monotone if I can help it. It's just me," he said.

"Pfft." Kisame crossed his arms, gazing off through the windows at the front of the cafeteria.

After a few minutes to let Kisame cool down, Itachi asked another question. "So, Kisame, you said that you had been to different places. How's Cleveland comparing?"

Kisame sighed, eyes closed, answered, trying hard not to beat up the seemingly frail kid across the table from him. "Still waiting to see the infamous 5-minute Cleveland weather. Other than that, it's pretty nice. Not as big as San Fran, and not as crowded as New York."

Itachi eyes grew wide (something that NEVER happens). "San Francisco?! You've been there?"

Kisame nodded with a slight grin. "Mm-hm. And Memphis. And Dallas. And……well, I've been lots of places, like I said."

"Wow," Itachi almost cooed. "Why do you move around so much?"

Kisame opened one of his closed eyes. "That," he said, "is for me to know and for you to never find out."

Itachi gave him a confused look. "Okay, then….."

------

The rest of the day was a blur for Kisame. Tech class blended smoothly with science, as science class mixed with math. Once the last bell rang, he almost didn't know what he was doing until he opened his locker. _Okay, so there's math, science, and English homework, _he thought. _That means I need my math textbook, that weird doldrum worksheet, and that instruction sheet for that poem… _His mind was clouded as he stuffed the homework materials he would need into his backpack.

"Kisame," a familiar monotone called. Itachi had once again broken Kisame's train of thought.

"What?"

"Well, you sort of avoided me during the after-lunch classes," he started, "and I just wanted to apologize."

_Apologize? For what? Being his fag self?_

"Look, Kisame, I'm sorry I asked so many questions. It's just that….you made me curious, so I…..well, I'm sorry." Itachi hung his head a bit for sincerity.

Kisame grunted. "Well, just don't do it again, I guess," he said with a shrug.

Itachi then did something totally unexpected. He took Kisame's hand, like a boyfriend would his girl's, and inspected his nails. "You're nails are so much bigger than mine," he started. "I have to come over and paint them sometime. How about tomorrow after school?"

Kisame stood in shock. _Did he just offer me a manicure?!_ he asked himself. "Er, sure, I guess….."

Itachi smiled slightly. "Cool. Tomorrow it is, then," he said, walking away.

_Woah, _Kisame marveled. _I guess I'm having my nails done tomorrow._

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Okay, bad ending, I know. I couldn't figure out another way to put it. T.T

Well, reviews are good. They will dictate whether I continue with this story or not. Because if it's as bad as I think it is, I probably won't continue.


	2. Invitation

Yay, second chapter! Yes, I decided to go on with this fic. I have plans……mwahaha! Well, anyway, this one's a bit shorter than the first, but the first chapter was incredibly long, I think. Anyways, read!

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The next days of school were hectic ones. Now that Kisame had been there for a week or so, the teachers expected him to function as a student who had been there the entire year would. And, the fact that the end of the semester was coming up didn't exactly help, either.

His classes were an unnecessary blur to him. How many times could a teacher explain what an onomatopoeia was, or how fast an F3 tornado's winds were? Frankly, both the repetition and the facts bored Kisame.

Itachi didn't talk much after the first few days that Kisame had gone to the school. At lunch, he mostly studied in his free time, which Kisame would have admired had it not been impossible for someone to _not_ pick up all the stuff that was repeated during class.

Itachi also yawned more, and the bags under his eyes grew. He had also bailed on Kisame's 'manicure,' saying he had family issues to attend to. Kisame wouldn't have minded this (hey, family's family), but he had noticed that Itachi had taken off his own beloved purple nail polish.

_Dude, what is up with Itachi? _he asked himself, while looking at the boy from across the room in reading. _How hard has he been studying? Constant all-nighters are NOT good for one's sleeping patterns. _

------

On the last day of the semester (a Friday), Kisame confronted Itachi at his locker at the end of the day.

"Okay, what gives?" he asked firmly. "You've been studying like crazy, and I know you haven't been sleeping enough, not to mention the lack of purple nail polish. Something's gotta be up," Kisame finished, as Itachi closed his locker door.

"It's nothing, Kisame, the black-haired kid replied. "Really, can't I study if I need to and keep my nails uncolored if I want? And, for your information, I've been going to bed early."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when hell freezes over," Kisame retorted.

"Kisame, I'M FINE. Seriously, perfectly fine. I think you're the one who's stressed here-"

"I never said you were STRESSED, only that you hadn't-"

Itachi grunted, cutting Kisame off. "Yes, but sleep deprivation and such are signs of _stress. _Like I said, you're probably just paranoid because of the whole new school thing. Trust me, by Monday, I'll look totally normal to you," he said, turning his back and walking away.

_I am NOT paranoid, _Kisame thought, _but maybe he will look better on Monday. A weekend's vacation can do a person wonders. _Then, another notion occurred to him. _Why am I so worried about Itachi? _he asked himself. _I guess he's just growing on me. _

------

That night, Kisame stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom. Slowly, he reached for the knot on the back of his head and unraveled it, letting the bandages fall down onto his shoulders.

Sighing, he ran his index and middle fingers across his cheeks and over his V-shaped scars. The same scars that his father had carved into his face. _Some things just don't go away, _he said to himself. _Scars of the past? How poetic. _

Kisame's train of thought was interrupted by his doorbell. Wondering who it could be, he went to answer it.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see Itachi standing across from him. "Itachi? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.

Itachi's eyes were downcast. "Is this a bad time? I could come back later, if you want…" he said, trailing off.

"No, you're fine," Kisame replied, opening the door further. "Come on in; I promise I don't bite."

Itachi accepted the weirdly worded invitation, entering the house.

------

"So, you live here by yourself?" Itachi asked, looking around the living room.

"Yup. Totally independent."

Itachi nodded, as he picked up a framed picture from the mantle. In it, there were three people at the beach- a tall, brown-haired man with a shell necklace, a slightly shorter woman with blue hair like Kisame's, and a small boy (who also had blue hair) looking up at the man, beaming. "Who's in the picture?" the black-haired kid asked.

Kisame involuntarily smiled. "Oh, that's my dad, my mom, and me," he said in a calm voice. "We went to Myrtle Beach the one summer. It's a shame I only remember the car ride home."

Itachi eyes softened. "You look pretty happy there," he said distantly.

"Yeah. I guess I was."

"Do you miss them?" Itachi asked after a period of silence.

"Hn?"

"Do you ever miss them? Your parents, I mean," he repeated quietly.

"Oh, my dad's still around," Kisame replied.

"Oh." Itachi placed the photo back where he had found it. "Do you ever get to see him?"

Kisame shrugged. "Sometimes," he said, "but not that often."

Itachi plopped himself down on the couch. "That sucks."

Kisame sat down next to Itachi. "No, not really," he assured. "Whenever I see him, I always end up moving."

"Oh. How come?" he asked, pulling a bottle of dark teal nail polish out of a pocket in his cargo pants.

Kisame shrugged. "Reasons." _He's breaking his promise……_he thought irritably.

"Okay, then."

------

"Kisame, sprawl your fingers out like this," Itachi directed, showing Kisame his stretched-out hand pressed down onto the coffee table.

Kisame imitated Itachi with both of his hands. "How long is this going to take?" he asked nervously.

Itachi looked up at Kisame. "If you cooperate, about 45 minutes." He opened the nail polish bottle. "And it might help if you sit down."

Kisame obliged, and Itachi got to work. "The reason it takes so long," he explained, "is because you have to put on at least three coats, not including the base and top coats." He blinked. "But since you're so reluctant to do this, we'll skip the top and base coats."

Kisame didn't quite understand, but he nodded anyway. "Oh…" he said uncertainly.

------

After a few minutes, it had gotten extremely quiet. Desperate to break the creepy silence, Kisame posed a question. "So, Itachi," he started, "now that you know about my family, what about yours?"

Itachi had begun the second coat while answering. "Well," he said, "I have a dad, a mom, and a little brother. My mom dotes on us, my dad's almost never home, and my little brother hates me." He blinked again. "Kisame, go like this," he told, loosely shaking his wrists, but keeping his fingers splayed. "It'll help it dry faster."

Kisame mimicked what Itachi was doing. "So, what does your dad do that makes him never be home?"

Itachi shrugged. "I don't really know," he replied.

"Is that why you didn't come over when you were supposed to? Because your dad came home for once?"

The other boy nodded. "Yeah.

------

After he had finished with the third coat, Itachi got up to leave. "Sorry," he apologized, "but if I'm not home in a few minutes, my mom will have my upper body."

"Don't you mean she'll have your head?"

"No, she'll be so mad, she'll want my torso and arms, too," he explained.

Kisame laughed. "Okay, see ya Monday," he said, waving goodbye.

But, as Itachi was walking through the doorway, he stopped. "Oh, and Kisame," he started, "what happened to your face?"

_Oh, shit, _the blue boy thought. _I forgot to put the bandages back on before answering the door! _"Uh, what do you mean?" he asked, as innocently as he could.

"You know," Itachi started, "the scars on your cheeks."

Kisame let out a grunt. _Shit. _"Well, erm…"

"No, wait, never mind," the other kid said. "I just remembered that promise. Sorry." He continued out the door. "And, don't worry," he called, "Your secret's safe with me!"

------

At school on Monday, the walls and lockers were decorated with posters supporting the school teams. Cheerleaders trotted down the halls, obnoxiously chanting all the while. _What the hell? _Kisame thought. _Are we going to the Superbowl or something? _Heading to homeroom, he saw that almost everyone was getting into the spirit. _Guess everyone here's a sports junkie. _

Even homeroom was energized. People were chatting, laughing, and chanting. Except for Itachi. _Thank God, someone sane, _Kisame thought, sitting in his usual seat.

"What's everyone so happy about?" he asked the black-haired kid sitting next to him.

Itachi looked over to Kisame. "On Friday, we're having the first basketball game of the season against our rival school," he replied. "Everyone gets hyped up for it." He began flipping through his assignment book. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about that…"

Just then, a thin, scary teacher walked into the room. "Settle down! I need to take attendance."

"Later," Itachi promised.

------

Later came during first period art class. Since the two boys sat across from each other, it was easy for them to commune.

"So, Itachi, what did you want to ask me back in homeroom?" Kisame asked, glopping some paint onto a small canvas in front of him.

"Oh, yeah. It was about the basketball game," Itachi reminded himself, adding some black to the red paint he was using. "Do you normally go to these school sports things?"

Kisame shook his head. "No," he replied in a strong voice. _He's asking too many questions again…_ "I never really got into them."

"Well, do you want to start?"

"What?"

Itachi took a breath. "Look, I know these guys, and I really want you to meet them. They go to that rival school I mentioned earlier, and I recently got an email from one of them asking if I was going to the game or not. I haven't replied yet, and I was wondering if you would want to meet them." He began to meticulously paint his canvas. "If not, then I won't go either."

_So, in other words, you're asking me out, _Kisame commented to himself. "So, what are these 'guys' like? Are there a lot of them?"

Itachi shook his head. "Only two," he said holding up two fingers. "One of them's quiet, and likes to make rude remarks, and the other is like Rachel Ray on sugar, coffee, and allergy medicine that literally makes you bounce off walls. No worries, though- they're both pretty cool."

Kisame nodded. Why not? "What the hell? Sure, I'll go," he answered.

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((Smiles)) Betcha you can guess who the two 'guys' are. And if you can't, it means I'm not as predictable as I think I am. Oh well.

Reviews make Itachi feel warm and fuzzy inside.


	3. Introductions and Insecurities

"C'mon, Kisame!" Itachi urged, as Kisame stuffed his science textbook into his backpack. "We're going to be late."

Kisame hastily zipped up said backpack. Today was game day, and he knew how anxious Itachi was for him to meet his other friends. "Alright, alright, I'm ready," he replied. "Let's go."

------

Itachi led the way to the gymnasium, where the basketball game was to be held. As they walked in, Kisame wasn't surprised that the bleachers were almost filled up. Judging by the actions the students had on Monday, he could imagine how pumped up they probably were for the actual game.

Kisame watched as Itachi's eyes scanned the crowd. He wondered what they would look like. _The hyper one's probably blond, _Kisame said to himself.

Suddenly, he heard a a relatively high-pitched male voice yell out, "Hey, Tach! Over here!"

"Come on," Itachi instructed, grabbing Kisame's bicep and leading him up into the top rows of the bleachers. "Here they are," the black-haired kid said finally, and let go of Kisame's arm. "Where the hell have you been? I thought you said that you guys would sit courtside so that it would be easier to find you," he stated irritably.

A guy with long, blond hair in a half-ponytail and his bangs completely parted to the left whipped his head around. "Well, it's not MY fault that everyone at your school is a basketball junkie," he retorted. Kisame recognized his voice as the one that had called out to Itachi. "We got here early, and there weren't any seats down there. So, we're up here now, yeah." He bent over to get a better view of Kisame. "So, who's your friend?"

"Deidara, this is Kisame. Kisame, Deidara," Itachi said, gesturing from one person to the other.

Deidara gave a nod. "Pleased to meet'cha," he said with a small wave.

Kisame waved back. "Hi….."

There was a short pause. "You planning on sitting down, yeah? Or just standing there the entire time?" the blond asked, referring to how Kisame was just standing there like an idiot.

"Uh, I'm sitting." he said, sitting down next to Itachi.

------

The game started, and the crowd really got into it, except for Itachi, Deidara and Company.

Which made Kisame wonder- Itachi had said that there were two people to meet. He had already met one, now where was the other? Deidara, nor Itachi, had talked to anyone sitting next to them.

"Hey, Itachi," he asked, loud enough to be heard over the screaming crowd, "who's the other guy you wanted me to meet?"

Itachi leaned toward Kisame. "See that kid, black sweatshirt, hood up, below Deidara? That's Sasori."

"Oh!" Deidara screamed rather loudly. "Kisame wants to meet Danna!" he purred, as he bent over himself to talk to the boy sitting a row below him. "Danna. Danna. Danna," the blond repeated, poking the guy once with each word. "Danna. Danna." Becoming irritated due to being ignored, Deidara began shaking the other boy. "SASORI!" he yelled.

The boy on the lower level looked back after Deidara had stopped shaking him. "What?" he asked in a controlling tone.

"Danna, Itachi wants to introduce you to Kisame!" he giddily squeaked. "And take that hood off," Deidara said, pulling the hood down.

While the hood fell, Kisame saw that Sasori had messy, red hair, red eyes, and a pierced right ear. _Bet HE doesn't have trouble finding dates, _Kisame commented to himself.

The redhead sighed. "Too bad for Itachi that you already did the introducing," he said, giving Deidara an oh-my-god-how-can-one-person-be-so-ditsy look. He turned to face Kisame. "You must be Kisame, then."

Kisame nodded. "And you're Sasori, correct?"

Sasori blinked. "Yup. And I see you've met the wannabe transvestite."

"He means Deidara," Itachi clarified.

"Oh. Why do you call him a wannabe transvestite?" the blue kid asked, curious.

Sasori laughed. "Have you SEEN what he wears?" he said, gesturing towards Deidara.

The blond was wearing low-rise, hip-hugging jeans with black suspenders hanging off. He had a small black t-shirt over a fishnet one, also. "It's a wonder why the teachers don't make him change," the redhead commented.

Deidara's eyebrows inched together. "I can hear you, ya know," he retorted angrily, "and I can dress any way I want to."

"Of course you can, Dei," Sasori cooed. "And that's why you get called a fag several times a day."

"People's opinions don't concern me," the blond shot back. "And it's not like you don't get made fun of, either."

The other boy glared. "Touché," he replied, turning back around.

Deidara grunted, and then smiled at Kisame. "Don't mind him, he's really just a pussycat," he assured. "With claws, granted, but still a kitty."

"Interesting..."

------

After the game, students from both schools exited from the side doors of the gym. Sticking to the main crowd, Kisame was trying desperately not to get lost in the crowd. He didn't succeed.

"Itachi! Itachi! Where the hell are you?!" he called out. "Come on!"

Suddenly, he felt a strong grip on his forearm. "Here," Sasori's voice said, as he led Kisame out the back door.

Kisame followed reluctantly. _God, how hard does this guy have to grab me? _He thought, because of Sasori's death grip.

------

Soon after, the two boys ended up in a field outside of school grounds. Deidara and Itachi were waiting for them there.

"Oh. My. God. Danna. Where'd ya go? You were right next to me, and I turn my back for one second, and when I turn back, you're not there! What gives?" Deidara asked, moving his arms around as he talked.

Sasori let out a sigh. "Well, Dei, I kind of needed to save Kisame from the evil mole people," he said, rolling his eyes.

The blond clasped a hand over his own mouth. "I had no idea!" he said-screeched. He turned toward Kisame. "You didn't happen to see any jackalopes on the way, did you?"

Kisame stared at Deidara. "Uh, no, I don't think I did…" he replied unsteadily.

Deidara grinned ear-to-ear. "That's good," he said, sticking his tongue out slightly and biting it.

Sasori leaned over to Kisame. "He has mental issues," the redhead half-whispered.

Kisame nodded. "I can see that," he replied.

--

"So, Kisame," the blond started, while walking in a wide circle, "Tach says that you're new around here, yeah."

Kisame bit the inside of his cheek. "Mm-hm. I came here a couple weeks ago."

Deidara blinked and nodded. "I see," he replied, turning halfway around to face Itachi. "Oh, you're good," he commented.

"Good with what?" Kisame asked nervously.

Deidara giggled while looking at the ground. "Like you don't know," he finally choked out. "Your nails."

"My…nails?"

"Yeah," the blond replied. "It took me two months to convince Danna to let me do his nails, and Itachi did yours in less than two weeks. That's impressive, dude."

Kisame gave him a confused look. "So Itachi's NOT the only one who paints his nails?"

The blond shook his head. "Nope," he said, showing Kisame his shiny, black nails. "Danna's are red."

"Red? But I though only whores paint their nails red," Kisame pointed out.

Deidara giggled again. "No, Danna does it too," he retorted. "They match his hair and eyes, so it looks cool."

"It does _not," _Sasori cut in. "The only reason I agreed on red was because it was either that or hot pink. And I don't think ANY guy would want hot pink nails."

Itachi laughed. "But I could SO picture you with pink nails…" he started.

Sasori glared at him. "Don't you dare-"

"Hey, Dei, remember that one time…"

"SHUT UP!" Sasori yelled.

The two boys continued laughing, despite Sasori's insisting that it wasn't funny.

"What's the story?" Kisame asked, curious.

Sasori turned a beet red while Deidara started explaining. "Well, Danna tried to bleach his hair, but it came out hot pink. Lucky for him the teachers let him keep his hood up in class."

Itachi snorted (which is a REALLY rare occasion) as Dei finished the story. "It's. Not. Funny." Sasori repeated in a death tone.

"Of course it isn't," the blond echoed, "and that's why we're all laughing."

"Alright, back off," Kisame interrupted. "The poor kid's gonna pass out, with all the blood going to his head." (Sasori was blushing REALLY badly.)

"Okay, okay," Deidara agreed. "But only if he gives me ice cream."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Yes, Dei, I'll get you any type of ice cream you want tomorrow at lunch if you stop it."

Deidara gave a cat-ish grin. "Yay," he said, bouncing on his heels.

Itachi held his head. "Dei, stop that. You're nauseating me."

"Oh. Sorry," he replied, stopping. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he glanced at the screen. "Guys, I gotta go," he said with a sigh. "If I get home past curfew again, my dad's going to kill me twice over."

The black-haired kid shrugged. "No problem, I gotta get going, too," he said, gesturing for Kisame to follow him. "See ya."

Sasori nodded as he followed Deidara in the opposite direction that he and Itachi were going. _Must live in the same area, _Kisame reasoned.

------

Heading towards Kisame's house, which was closer to the school, Itachi kicked a rock down the sidewalk. "So, Kisame," he inquired, "what do you think of them?"

Kisame looked at Itachi. "Who? Deidara and Sasori? They're cool, if not insane."

The black-haired kid fostered a smile. "Well, Dei has been diagnosed as being clinically insane," he stated.

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Joy."

"Hey, don't brush him off like that," Itachi scolded. "He's a good guy, and he really seems to like you."

The blue-haired kid stared in disbelief. "Really?" he asked.

Itachi nodded. "Yeah, he even asked for your email address while you and Sasori ventured out into the mole people's territory. I gave it to him, if you don't mind."

"Wait- where did you get my email?"

"Never mind that. Point is, he likes you. And Sasori's apparently does too, otherwise he wouldn't have gone out to find you. I guess I forgot to mention that we take the back door out of the gym for things like these."

Reaching an intersection, the pair silently bid each other farewell, and parted.

------

Monday, at school, something bugged Kisame all through his morning classes. Itachi seemed so perfect, so _popular. _He was extremely good-looking, and other people's comments never seemed to bother him. He was great at painting and drawing, and he obviously had a talent for whatever band instrument he played (Kisame didn't know what it was, though, but he had heard the band teacher telling Itachi how good he was at it). He even managed a 3.8 GPA. But, he acted as if he was no one at all. Why would someone, who was so gifted, have such a low profile of himself?

The answer came in band class that day. After everyone had packed up, Mr. Zete had told them to take a seat for an announcement.

"Okay, guys," the oddball teacher started, "we all know that next week, on Wednesday, is the end of the month. And, on that day, nothing really important is happening in your normal classes. So, the subject teachers said that it would be okay if I took you guys out for a day-long field trip. Ergo, next Wednesday, we're going to the pool!"

Everyone cheered, except Itachi.

"So, guys," he continued, "On Wednesday, bring you swimsuits, a towel, and sandals. Be advised that the pool is indoors. I'll have the forms tomorrow."

At that statement, the bell rang, and everyone left the room in a happy mood. Except for Itachi, who stayed in his seat and hugged his books to his chest.

"Hey, Itachi, you coming?" Kisame asked, one of the last ones to leave the room.

"Yeah…" he replied distantly, following Kisame out the door.

--

"Why so spacey? Aren't you excited for the field trip? Everyone else seems to be," Kisame said, as the two walked down the hall.

After a short period of silence, the other boy answered with a definite no.

"Why not?" Kisame inquired. "You'd think a chick magnet like you wouldn't be able to _wait _to show off his bod."

Itachi gave a small sigh. "There's not much to show," he replied.

Kisame laughed dryly. "Are you crazy? Look at yourself, Itachi: you're lean, relatively tall, and trim. I'm sure all those gorgeous flute players would _love _to see you shirtless."

Itachi shook his head. "No. And you're muscular, also tall, and are confident; that doesn't mean that _you _can't wait to go shirtless."

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Point taken, but that's not what I'm saying. Itachi, walking down the street, I bet there's at least five girls that want you to hit it with them."

The black-haired kid held his books tighter to his chest. "Look, let's change the topic," he said, walking into the lunchroom.

Kisame couldn't believe it. Itachi, probably the hottest guy in school (to the girls, at least), was self-conscious. _Well, whad'dya know,_ he thought. _The wonder kid is human._

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Yeah, I know, the ending was drabble-ish and bad. Forgive me, but it'll make sense once you read the next couple chapters.

And yes, this one was crackified. Well, that's just the way Dei is. Can't change that, now can we?

Reviews make Deidara bounce on his heels. And they make me happy, too. XD


	4. Drums

Fourth chappy. Hoo-ray. Too bad next to no one reads this fanfic…oh well. I'll get over it eventually.

I don't own Naruto, nor do I know Green Day.

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"_**And so, in a few days, there will be parent-teacher conferences,"**_ the principal's voice drolled over the PA during ninth period that day.

_Blah, blah, blah…what's the big deal? It's not like anyone really cares, _Kisame thought.

"_**We will be going in reverse alphabetical order," **_he continued. _**"That means people with the last names Z-S will go tomorrow…you will get your scheduled times in homeroom tomorrow."**_

The final bell rang, and no one could be happier.

------

On his way out the door, Kisame passed the band room, where he could hear banging. _Someone must be playing the drums, _Kisame reasoned, walking into the room.

He was surprised to find that Itachi was the one playing the drums. "Hey, Itachi," he called out, trying to get Itachi's attention.

The other boy stopped playing and looked up. "Oh. Hi, Kisame," he replied, putting the practice pads back onto the drums. "That was the second part of 'Jesus of Suburbia.'"

"What?"

"Jesus of Suburbia. The song by Green Day. That was the drum part I was playing, or at least, to the second part of the song," he explained, putting the sticks away.

"Oh." Kisame walked up to the black-haired kid. "So, you play the drums?"

"Yeah, and apparently, I'm good at it. Or, at least, that's what everyone says," Itachi replied.

Kisame nodded. "You like to play them, then?"

"Hell yes."

"Do you have a drum set at home? To practice, I mean," he asked, fully shouldering his backpack.

Itachi shook his head. "No. My dad said that he would die before he would let all that noise into our house."

"But it's not noise; it's music. Anyway, what does your mom say?" the blue kid inquired.

The other boy sighed. "My mom does whatever my dad tells her to. Sasuke and I say that he took away her free will when he first met her, and that's why she married him," he answered.

"Sasuke…?"

"My little brother. The one who hates me," Itachi informed.

"Ah. So which one of your parents is coming to the parent-teacher conferences?"

The black-haired boy picked up his backpack. "My dad," he said with a sigh. "And am I in for it."

Kisame shot him a confused look. "In for what? Your grades are great."

"Not to my dad's standards. 3.8 isn't good enough for him anymore." Itachi's eyes shifted from Kisame to the floor. "It seems that whenever I finally reach his goal for me, he goes ahead and raises the bar."

"Well, at least you still have a family that cares," Kisame said under his breath and leaving the room.

"What was that?" the other boy asked, following Kisame out the door. "Hey, wait up!"

Kisame kept on walking. "Are you forgetting your promise?" he asked irritably.

"Well, no, but…what do you mean? I heard something about having a family that cares…"

The blue kid stopped, and sighed. "Look, don't worry about it. It doesn't concern you, nor it ever will. So, just leave it be."

"But now I'm-"

"LEAVE IT BE, DAMMIT!" Kisame yelled, walking away.

Itachi exhaled. "Fine. See you tomorrow."

------

**Hey, Kisame!**

Kisame was surprised when he checked his email that later that night. An address, which he didn't recognize, had sent him an email with his name in the subject line. Coincidence? Not likely.

Opening the email, he noticed immediately the black background and yellow text. _How obnoxious, _he thought, as he began to read.

**Helloooooooooo. )**

**You are Kisame. You have blue skin and blue hair. Your nails are painted teal. You know a guy named Itachi. And you wear bandages on your face.**

**Know how I know all this stuff? Well, I'm psychic! Mwahaha!**

**No, I wish. I'm Deidara, the blond you met at the basketball game on Friday. You know, the one who dresses like a skank and is on a permanent sugar high. Remember? Yeah, you probably do. I'm kinda hard to forget. **

**Anyways, Sasori and I want you to meet us at the park (the one by the ice cream store, you know it, right?) after school on Wednesday. That's two days from now. **

**lol Just wanted to make that clear. **

**And don't, repeat DON'T TELL ITACHI.**

**Reply to RSVP.**

Kisame reread the message a couple of times. _They want me to meet them at the park,_ he thought. _No Itachi. _Quickly, he typed up a reply:

**I'll be there. I know where the park is. And I know when Wednesday is, too. So you didn't need to make that clear. **

**No worries, I won't tell Itachi. Promise. **

Hitting 'send,' Kisame wondered that the two were planning. _They're definitely an odd bunch, _he said to himself. _This could be interesting. _

------

Once Wednesday rolled around, Kisame headed for the park like he promised after school. Naturally, Deidara and Sasori were there waiting for him.

"Kisame!" Deidara yelled out, waving his arms around. "Over here!"

Kisame headed toward the blond, who was seated on a swing next to Sasori.

"You came!" the tenor voice exclaimed.

"Yeah, I said I would, didn't I? I'm not one to bail," he replied, taking up a swing next to Deidara.

"Well, that's good."

Kisame began pumping his legs. "So, what's this about? Why the secrecy?" he asked.

Sasori began swinging as well. "Itachi's birthday is coming up," he explained, "and we're wondering what to get him. We figured that you should be in on this, too."

"It would be a surprise from all of us, yeah," Deidara elaborated. "Problem is, we have absolutely no idea what to get him. He's an enigma, even to us."

"He is mysterious…but I think I know the perfect present," Kisame said confidently.

"Which is…?"

"A drum set! Like, with a cymbal and everything!"

Deidara shot Kisame a confused look. "Does Tach play the drums?"

Kisame nodded vigorously. "He's good at it too, not to mention he likes playing them."

"Not necessarily," Sasori cut in. "I'm good at basketball, but I loathe the sport."

"Yes, but I _know _he likes playing them. He told me this afternoon," the blue-haired kid retorted.

"Then it's settled!" Deidara yelled, standing up from his swing. "We're getting him a drum set!"

Sasori glared at the blond. "We never _agreed _to get him that," he protested.

Deidara shook his head. "No, we didn't, but it's two against one. I agree with Kisame."

The redhead scraped his feet across the ground to stop the swing. Crossing his arms, he scowled. "Fine."

The blond gave a smile. "Okay, now we have a couple other things to worry about. First, we need to get a drum set. Second, we need to get it into Itachi's house without him knowing. And third, we need to find a way to wrap it."

Kisame jumped off. "Something tells me that he doesn't care about the third one. And, during science, he mentioned that he and his family are going out-of-town to visit relatives on Friday night. We could bring it in then."

"And I have an unused drum set in my basement," Sasori added. "Still in the boxes and everything."

Dei nodded. "This is good. So, here's how it's gonna go," he started. "On Friday night, when Itachi and Family are out, we go into Danna's house and transport said boxes to Tach's place. We then set them up and wait for him to come home. When he arrives back, we will shout out, "Happy birthday Itachi" as loud as we can and give him his gift. Genius, yeah?"

"Er, how do you plan on getting into the house? I'm sure they'll lock it before they leave," Kisame pointed out.

Deidara grinned even more than he normally did. "I got THAT covered, yeah," he replied. "I'm actually an accomplished lockpick."

Kisame wondered how one became an accomplished lockpick without going to jail, but he refrained from asking. "Okay, then, Guess we're set," he stated.

Sasori nodded, walking off of the swing. "Yeah, Come over by my place Friday at six. We'll be able to get the set out of my basement by seven, and get them to Itachi's house by eight. They shouldn't take that long to set up, and Itachi said in an email that he would be home by noon on Saturday."

"Two questions," the blue kid said. "One, where's your house, and two why did Itachi tell you in an email?"

"I'll send you the address," the redhead replied, "and he always tells me things in emails. We don't exactly see each other every day, you know."

"Oh. Well, I'd better get home. Stupid reading teacher has to pile it on today," Kisame said, heading home. "And storm clouds are gathering."

"Yeah, I'd best be home too," Deidara agreed, walking away. "See ya, guys."

"Later," Sasori answered, going in a different direction.

Sighing, the blue-haired kid mumbled a "bye" and walked faster. _Does Deidara _always _make all the plans? Must be some extrovert, _he thought.

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Relatively short chappy this time, I know. Sorry.

And yes, Dei types everything out when he sends emails. No shortenings for him. And no, I wasn't listening to Green Day while I was writing this chapter. I actually had the song "Who We Are" by Haste The Day on a loop.

Reviews help Sasori get over his fear of recessed lighting. Don't ask.


	5. Parental Control

Yo, sorry for the relatively late update, I was at dance camp, and when I got home at night I'd be all sore and not want to move…well anyways, here's the fifth chappy. XD

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The next day, Itachi was in a total cloud: spacing out, not taking notes and even daring to sleep during reading class. Very un-Itachi-like. This left Kisame wondering how his parent-teacher conference went. His dad _was _really concerned about grades, right?

"So, how'd the conference go last night?" the blue kid asked at lunch that day.

Itach played around with his mashed potatoes. "Good," he said in a tired tone.

Knowing that Itachi's response was the default answer for most kids, he asked again. "Could you elaborate on that?"

The black-haired boy pushed his lunch tray aside and slammed his head onto the table. "No, but I'm in deep trouble. Apparently, my math grades aren't up to par-"

"And your dad went nuts," Kisame finished.

"Yeah, and he made me stay up twice as long as normal lost night-"

"WHAT?!" the other boy screamed out.

Itachi lifted his head. "Oh, my dad makes me stay awake to study. Says it builds character or something. Henceforth, he made me stay up later than normal last night to fix up those math tests I didn't do too well on." He blinked. "The daze is a product of that."

Kisame's eyes widened. "So you WEREN'T getting enough sleep a couple of weeks ago! I knew it! You liar," he sneered playfully.

"Call me what you will," the black-haired kid retorted, "but I needed you off my back."

_Oh, I know the feeling, _the blue-haired guy added to himself.

------

The next day (Friday), Kisame didn't pay much attention to his classes. He was more concerned with Deidara's little plan. _Itachi said that his dad didn't want him getting drums. Would he take them back?_ _No, they'd be a gift, and it'd be rude to take back such a thoughtful gift. Right?_ He hoped so.

Later that day, Kisame was headed for Sasori's house. _Good thing Red-Hair gave me his address via email,_ he thought, _otherwise this entire thing'd be a bust. But, now I'm concerned. My email is common knowledge. Good Lord. _

Coming up to the house, he noticed that the front lawn was particularly neat and trimmed. _Wow, someone's a bit meticulous, _he said to himself, knocking on the door.

A short, old woman answered. "What do you want?" her old voice rasped. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying it, so-"

"Grandma Chiyo, it's okay," Sasori's unseen voice chimed in. "I invited him over."

"Oh!" she shouted, leaning to Kisame's right and bringing the redhead into the doorway with a hug. "Why, I remember just yesterday-"

"Yeah, Grandma, I remember too," he replied, rolling his eyes.

The old woman pulled away from the embrace. "Oh. Okay, then…" she said, trailing off and returning to whatever it was that she was doing beforehand.

The redhead sighed. "Well, that's Grandma Chiyo for ya," he stated in a stressed voice. "Oh well; come in. Dei's already downstairs."

--

Sasori's basement was bleak, with boxes, fiberglass strips, and wood pieces lying around. "Watch your step," he warned. "There's wood splinters everywhere."

Kisame did as the other boy said. Nothing was worse than having a splinter in your foot. "So…why all the wood lying around in the first place?"

"I'm somewhat of a carpenter," Sasori explained.

The blue-haired boy heard a loud _thump _from behind him, and he turned around to see Deidara lying on the floor with boxes scattered everywhere. "Danna makes puppets!" he exclaimed after getting back up.

Kisame's eyes grew wide. "You okay?" he asked, worried.

The blond gave two vigorous nods. "Yup, yeah," he said, then walking over to Sasori (who had made his way across the cellar and toward a large pile of even larger boxes). "So, these are the boxes we need to carry?" Deidara asked, as the other kid pushed them into the middle of the floor.

Sasori exhaled dramatically. "Yeah," he replied. "You can see why I need your help."

"Cha," Deidara nodded. "Those things are HUGE, yeah."

Not listening to the other people converse, Kisame decided to take a look around. The exposed concrete floor contributed to the dreariness, and lots of things were covered up…

Lifting up the tarp on top of a particularly rounded-over shape, he yelped when a nightmarish, nonhuman _thing _fell forward.

The redhead ran over to Kisame. "Oh, you found it!" he purred. "Hiruko! I was wondering where I put you."

The blue-haired kid's pupils dihalated. "What is that thing?!" he demanded to know.

Deidara walked over to the other two. "That's Hiruko," he explained to Kisame. "He's one of the puppets that Danna has made, and that one's his favorite. Don't ask me why; I do not know."

Sasori shouldered one of the puppet's six arms. "I'm going to go put Hiruko away now. You guys start bringing the boxes out onto the front lawn," he said, going up the stairs.

--------

After about 20 minutes, Deidara and Kisame had the entire drum set out onto the grass in front of Sasori's house. Who knew drums were _that_ heavy? Apparently, neither boy did, since they both were panting by that time.

Deidara reached up and stretched, making noises while doing so. His black t-shirt went up along with his arms, and Kisame couldn't help but notice the large red scar snaking its way across the blond's back.

"Dei, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the scar.

The blond lowered his arms and pulled his shirt down. "Nothing," he replied, as Sasori walked out of his house. "And where have _you _been?" Deidara asked with a glare. "Kisame and I did all the heavy lifting while you were off hiding in your room! What the hell?!"

Sasori's eyes shifted to the ground. "Well, if you would let me explain, I'll tell you," he retorted harshly. "When I went to go put away Hiruko, some toxic stuff spilled, and of course I had to clean it up, otherwise it would've burned a hole in the floor. And then-"

"Stop there," the blond cut in. "I don't care. Let's just get these to Tach's house, yeah?"

The other two boys nodded, lifting a few boxes and following Dei through a short cut (which was, granted, pretty short). What Deidara did next is what REALLY surprised Kisame, though. When the threesome got to Itachi's place, the blond quickly checked to see if anyone was home. After concluding that the house was deserted, he went up to the doorknob of the front door and jiggled it. Hitting it in a few different places, the door eased open automatically.

Kisame stood wide-eyed. "Woah, what did he…"

Sasori sighed. "That's Dei for ya. Full of surprises."

--

A few trips back and forth later, the entire set was inside Itachi's abode. And in this living room say a puzzled Sasori, trying to make sense of the assembly directions.

"Okay, so if Rod A connects with the base, and Screw C holds the cymbal, that means that- wait, no, that's not right…" the redhead said to himself, looking at a white piece of paper that had been folded a few times.

Deidara groaned. "Danna, if you'd've let _me _put it together in the first place, we'd be done by now, yeah."

Sasori laughed. "Yeah, and the whole thing'd be held together with clay," he replied.

"Hey, it holds, doesn't it? And no, it wouldn't. See, I've already put together the cymbal-thingamawhatsit," he retorted, gesturing to the cymbal he had just put together.

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then, prove me wrong. Put this entire drum set together," he challenged slyly.

The blond gave a slight "hmph" and got to work. After about 15 minutes, Deidara had the entire thing put together. "OH! What now, Danna? WHAT NOW?!" he yelled out. "I did it. Ha."

"Yeah, but only after he manipulated you into doing so," Kisame pointed out, crushing the cardboard boxes for the trash (or recycling, whatever have you).

Deidara's face flushed. "Yeah, well…I didn't see _you _do any assembling! There's no room for you to talk, yeah," he said, sticking his tongue out.

Sasori grinned. "Ah, Deidara-chan," he practically sang, "how fun it is to mess with your head. It's a wonder why you still have your-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU YAOI PERV!!" Dei cut him off, blushing badly. He turned away from Sasori and pouted. "I'm not THAT easy."

Kisame felt like he was going to throw up. "Okay, keep it to yourselves," he said, pinching in-between his eyebrows. "That's just- keep the images to yourselves, alright?"

"Yeah, Danna," the bond agreed. "Not everyone's as sick and horny as you are."

------

The next day, the trio got to Itachi's house before he got home and took to their hiding place (behind the ridiculously large couch).

"Dei, how long are we going to have to crouch and hide like this? Sasori asked, already sore 10 minutes into hiding.

"Not long," the blond replied, as he heard the doorknob turn. Luckily, Itachi was the first one in the house.

"I don't know why the light's on, Father," the black-haired guy said. "I swear I-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ITACHI!!" the others yelled out, jumping out from behind the couch.

Itachi was taken aback, needless to say. No one expects to come home to their friends in their house, much less said friends yelling at him about their birthday. Which wasn't for 3 months, he might add.

Deidara's grin grew wider. "And don't forget the present!" he exclaimed, pulling a tarp off the drumset, which was set up off-to-the-side.

The black-haired kid stood in somewhat of a stupor when the gift was revealed. "So, let me get this straight," he started in his signature monotone. "You guys broke into my house and set up a drum set for me as a present, even though my birthday's in June and you could be charged in court. Correct?"

Dei's mood sank immediately. "Well, when you put it that way…and since when is your birthday in June?"

"Since 13 years ago, that's when." Itachi turned away and looked at the instrument. "Wow, I must have some pretty reliable friends, even if they can't remember dates for their lives." He grabbed the drumsticks and sat down at the drums, hesitant.

"Uh, the set is yours to keep," Sasori chimed in, noticing Itachi's hesitation.

The black-haired kid's face lit up. "Seriously?"

Kisame gave him a look. "No, we just broke into your house and set up a drum set for kicks," he replied sarcastically.

Laughing at himself, Itachi began banging on the assorted snares. "Cool. You guys are the best!"

Just then, Itachi's father walked into the room through the front door. "Itachi, what's that noi-" he started, as a look of stern anger crossed his face when he saw the drums. "What's all this?" he asked, glancing at Kisame and Co., to the drums, and back.

The black-haired boy stopped playing. "Er, these are my friends," he said, gesturing toward the others. "Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame. They gave me this drum set, and they planned this sort-of-surprise-party for me. Cool, huh?" he asked with a straight face.

Itachi's dad's gaze lowered. "You _know_ how I feel about the drums," he said in a low tone.

"Yeah, but_ they_ don't," the son replied, returning to his drums. "And you gotta admit, it WAS a pretty thoughtful present."

The adult put his hands on two of the drums, muting the sound. "We're going to have to talk about this," he growled. "As for you, I think it's best if you left," he said in a more commanding tone to the group of teens.

No one hesitated. There was something about Mr. Uchiha that was _really _scary.

------

Safely down the street, Deidara, Sasori and Kisame departed. "See ya whenever," they seemed to say telepathically, as they walked their separate ways.

_I hope Itachi's not getting hurt too bad in there, _Kisame thought on the way home. _I don't think Dei or Sasori knew about what his dad said about drums. Oh, God, what am I supposed to do now? _

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I curse my slow typing skills. Two hours for one chappy? Just great. Well, I do get distracted a lot, so…yeah. I don't know.

And, that part in the middle was my SasoDei fix for this fanfic. I can't help myself sometimes. XD

Reviews help Kisame with his doubts.


	6. Histories and Confessions

Okay, I can almost guarantee that half of the people who read this fic are going to hate me for what I'm doing in this chapter. But oh well, I have an explanation.

That said, enjoy. And remember that Kisame eats flames.

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The next night, Kisame got a call from a familiar number. "Hello?" he asked, recognizing it on his caller ID. It was Itachi.

"Hello? Is Kisame there?" a young voice asked. Definitely not Itachi.

"This is. Who's calling, may I ask?"

On the other end, the caller swallowed. "This is Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother," he explained. "Has Brother been over your house at all today?"

Kisame shook his head, though he knew that Sasuke couldn't hear him. "Uh, no, he hasn't, sorry. Why? Is he AWOL or something?"

"Y-yeah. I don't know all the details, but I do know that wh-when I woke up this morning, I heard Brother and Father yelling about something, and then I heard a door slam. I haven't seen him all day, nor has anyone else. Mother's having paranoia attacks, cuz that's how bad it is."

The older boy didn't even _want _to know what paranoia attacks were. "Has your dad said anything about it today? About what happened?"

"No. He's just been on a rampage. If he finds out I'm on the phone with you, I'm d-dead," Sasuke replied.

"Then why chance calling me?"

There was a period of silence from the other end of the call. "…because I'm worried," he finally said. "I know Brother's always been a bit edgy, but he's never done something like this before. I was kind of h-hoping that you would kn-know where he is."

Kisame sighed. "Sorry, kid. I don't have a- wait, are the drums still there?" he asked, a possibility forming in his head.

"No," Sasuke replied. "I saw Father throw them out this morning after Itachi left. Why?"

"So THAT'S it!" the older kid practically yelled out. "I think I know where Itachi is."

------

Even though it was extremely dark out, Kisame knew his way around pretty well by now, and was able to get to the school with no problems. When he got to his destination, he wasn't surprised to find the front door open. Looks like Deidara wasn't the only lockpick around.

Sure enough, the lights in the band room were on. And, there was a whole lot of banging coming from it.

Kisame entered at his own risk to find Itachi already pounding the hell out of the school's drum set. Just as he had thought. "Itachi? Itachi, that you?" he asked tentatively.

The black-haired kid kept playing, ignoring Kisame completely.

"Hey, are you okay?" the other boy asked again, approaching his friend. "They're all worried about you, y'know-"

Itachi hit a drum hard, cutting off Kisame. "Stop there," he growled. "Don't feed me lies like that. I know for a fact that-"

"Look, Sasuke just called me a couple minutes ago, okay? The kid was so scared, dude. He was _stuttering, _for God's sake. And, he mentioned that your mom was having paranoia attacks, whatever those are. And-"

"Kisame, stay out of my life," the other boy said angrily. "Okay?! You have no idea how severe my family situation is, no idea how demanding everyone is of me, no idea how hard I try!" Itachi's eyes flashed read for a minute as he yelled.

"What, you think you're the only one here with family problems?! Get a grip, Itachi!" Kisame shot back, instantly enraged and insulted. "Look at least you're safe where you are! You don't have to worry about being uprooted every two months to avoid a psychotic killer, or live with the pain and guilt of supposedly having killed the one person who's supposed to always be there to take care of you, or-" the blue-haired kid stopped himself. "You know what?! You know what…you don't care. Why am I still talking, then? I don't even know," he said, turning away from Itachi.

"Well, _you _don't know what it's like to live with the absolute worst father in history!" the black-haired kid shot back, with most of his own anger dissipated.

"Oh, I don't, do I?" Kisame inquired sarcastically, raising his eyebrows and walking around the room. "I think I do." He pulled off the bandages that he was wearing on the cheeks drastically, once again revealing his V-shaped scars to Itachi. "You think these are birthmarks? Decorations? NO. My dad did this to me. For something I didn't even do! He'd tried to _kill _me before! Why the hell do you think I move around so much? Because he follows me, bent on bringing me into a permanent coma!" He took a deep breath, and then continued. "Can you even begin to fathom the terror I live in? Knowing that he's out there, hunting you down? No. How could you, anyways? You're not me."

Itachi's eyebrows came together, and rage begin to build up inside of him again. "At least _you _can be yourself around your dad," he retorted. "My dad won't settle for anything less than the perfect son he's dreamed up. Hell, he _slashed _those drums last night! And not because they made noise, no. It's because I can't play music because I have to get straight A's so that I can get into that damn Ivy League College and so that I can become that world-renowned doctor or something!" He let out a deep breath. "All I've ever wanted to do was play the fucking drums. Nothing more, nothing less. And you know what? I can't do anything as simple as that because my father won't allow it. And his word is fucking law." The black-haired kid threw the drumsticks that he was holding against an instrument storage cabinet. Lowering his head onto the center drum, he screamed.

--

A long period of silence followed, and the heated atmosphere cooled down quite a bit.

"Well, glad to get THAT out of our systems, eh?" Kisame asked, breaking the quiet streak.

Itachi had calmed down too, since his eyes had returned to their normal color. "Tch. Yeah," he agreed. Walking over to where he had chucked the wooden sticks at the cabinets, he sighed. "Hey, Kisame," he asked quietly, "why does your dad hate you so much? I mean, to the point where he wants to kill you…"

Kisame let out a breath. "If I tell you, will you go home?"

The other boy nodded solemnly.

"Okay, then. I'll explain as we walk."

------

"So, remember that picture you saw? The one of my mom, my dad and me at Myrtle Beach?" he started, as they left the school parking lot.

Itachi nodded. "Yeah. You said all you remembered from that trip was the ride home."

"There's a reason for that," Kisame explained. "Okay, my mom and I were in the car, on the way home, right? Well, my dad had stayed behind for business. Anyway, I was asking my mom about how long it would take us to get home, and then she suddenly swerved off the road. We rolled for a bit, and then hit a tree. She…didn't make it out. I obviously did."

The other boy nodded, to show that he was listening.

"And so, little four-year-old me finally made it home thanks to the authorities. And guess who was waiting when I walked into the door. My dad, no duh." Kisame kicked a rock down the sidewalk. "He apparently had heard the story, and got it into his head that it was _my _fault that his wife died, because I had been supposedly distracting her from the road. That's when he grabbed some sort of knife –I honestly have no idea what kind- and cut into my face really deep. I never got any medical help for them, so they eventually scarred over into what's before you," he said, gesturing to his ever-apparent scars. "So, that's my life story so far. Intriguing, right?"

Itachi averted his gaze to the ground. "Wow, Kisame…I had no idea. But, how have you been able to move around so much? I mean, don't they ask for ID or something when buying a house? And not to mention the expensiveness."

"Ah, yet another question. Well, I guess it'll help tell the story. So, the rest is kinda dorky. Years after the whole Myrtle Beach incident, I read a book about a guy who had been physically abused like I had been, and he had suffered through the torture just like I had. But then, he got the guts to tell his neighbor or something –or someone like that, I don't really remember- and before he knew it, he was out of hell and the perpetrator doing twenty years. Inspired, I told the only person I trusted at the time, my older brother, who had been away at college when the entire thing happened, and he helped me get this program-thing going. So now, should my old man come around for me, all I have to do is call the police and I'm relocated in a matter of days. Fun, fun," Kisame finished, adding the last part sarcastically.

"Why isn't your dad in jail, then? I mean, if you keep finding him…" Itachi trailed off.

The blue kid shrugged. "He's good at getting out of handcuffs, I guess."

The black-haired boy grunted. "So you must hate moving, right?" he solicited distantly.

"Well, doesn't everyone?"

"And that's why you were so reluctant to befriend me," Itachi continued. "Because you knew that it wouldn't be worth forging anything emotional, since you'd have to mave in a month or so anyway. I get it now," he speculated.

"Okay, now your turn. Know what I don't get?" Kisame asked.

"What?"

"The first time your dad came around, you took off your purple nail polish. How come? Was it really just because you didn't want purple nails anymore?" he clarified.

Itachi sighed. Now was the time for confessions. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked innocently.

"Well, sure. If you want me to…"

"Okay, good. You ready for this?"

"Give me your best shot."

"Yes, well…" Itachi began trailing off again, but stopped himself. "Kisame, I'm gay."

The other boy jumped back involuntarily. "WHAT?!" he screamed out.

The black-haired boy took a deep breath. "I'm gay, okay? And remember me saying about the idea for the perfect son my dad has? Well, something tells me that that son isn't gay." He ran his fingers through his bangs. "Look, please don't tell anyone, alright? It's not like they probably haven't figured it out yet, but just don't, okay? I really haven't told anyone besides you yet, so…yeah, you get it."

Kisame giggled. "Wow, that really _does _explain a lot. The nails, the androgynous friends, the long hair, the hate of getting girls' attention…I see."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Laughing."

"I wasn't laughing at you."

"Of course you weren't. Just stop."

"Itachi, I was laughing at my own stupidity. I swear."

"Sure you were," he said with an eye roll. "And you're skin is green, too."

"Itachi…"

The black-haired guy waved his hand around a bit. "Kidding, kidding. Can't take a joke, much." He looked back at the ground. "But seriously, don't tell anyone."

Kisame smiled. "Your secret's safe with me," he began, "if my history's safe with you."

Itachi smiled back. "Deal."

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See? I told you that you would hate me. XP But seriously, this is my attempt to get rid of gay stereotypes, 'kay? We all know that Itachi is the farthest thing from a pansy, right? Yes, we do. Therefore, by portraying him as gay, I am saying that gays ARE NOT wimps. And for the record, feminine guys rock.

Well, at least the KisaIta fans will like me. I hope.

And, have you ever wondered why Kisame says 'eh' at the end of some of his sentences? Well, he had lived in Ontario for a while (about 5 months, a new record), and he picked that up there. Canada rocks, by the way.

Reviews help Itachi feel accepted.


	7. Birth of Dawn

Hello, out there! Yes, I know, IT'S A SPEEDY UPDATE!!! XD Me wuvs it. But, this chappy is short, so….yeah, you get it. But, it's important, so READ!!

And I can't tell you how happy I am that you peoples like this fic. Especially since I thought up chapters 4-12 at 11:30 at night when I couldn't sleep. Oh well, just enjoy.

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The next few days at school went smoothly. Itachi was unfazed (as usual), and Kisame didn't look at his friend any differently. Frankly, he couldn't care less if Itachi was straight, bisexual, gay, or even asexual.

And, both boys kept each other's secrets, no questions asked. Not that anyone asked them, of course.

------

Once again, Kisame got an email from an address that he didn't recognize. And, once again, it had his name in the subject line. Opening it, he noticed the bold, red text. Sasori's signature font. _Another birthday plan? _he wondered, reading.

**Yo, Kisame.**

'**Sori here. Sorry about the weird address, the other email I have is being stupid and having technical difficulties…XP**

**Anyways, Die said that he and I will be congregating at the park this Thursday with you and Tach. He said something about forming a gang-thing. Don't ask, I honestly have no idea what that psycho has up his sleeve this time. **

**Well, just tell Itachi and be there. After school, obviously. Btw, you have no choice in this. **

Kisame's eyelids lowered. Something about Sasori's wording REALLY pissed him off…oh well. Thursday, after school, the park. Easy enough to remember. He forwarded the message, making a mental note…

------

"And so, Hidan handed me a dissecting tool, and told me to start cutting up the phycus, even though I _tried _to tell him that you can't dissect phycuses, but he didn't listen, and-" Deidara's voice rang out, as Kisame approached him at the park on Thursday. Sasori and Itachi had already arrived.

"Hey," he said, waving to the group. "Why was Dei talking about cutting up phycuses? Aren't those fake plants or something?"

The blond laughed. "Oh, I was just telling Danna and Tach about the weird dream I had the other night. See, I was-"

"Stop. I don't want to know."

Deidara grunted. "Fine," he said, sticking his tongue out at Kisame.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Dei, you said something about forming a gang-thing. That's why you called us here, right?" he asked, trying to get the blond on task.

"Oh, yeah. I remember now," Deidara replied. "And it's not so much a 'gang' as it is a 'group.' See, if we were all part of a group-thing-whatever, we would have a reason to get together on a basis instead of the sporadic schedule we have now. Genius, yeah?"

"What would be the point of said group?" Itachi asked in a monotone.

The blond shrugged. "I 'unno, to have fun and hang out, I guess."

"Well, okay, but where would we meet?" Kisame inquired.

"Danna's house on Friday nights," Deidara replied matter-of-factly.

Sasori grunted. "And when did _I _agree on this?"

"You didn't, but you have no say in the matter," the blond retorted. "Your house has the biggest meeting place, referring to you basement."

The redhead sighed. "Fine."

"Good." Dei smiled. "And now that that's taken care of, we have a bigger matter to attend to."

"Which is…?"

"The fact that we all have to paint our nails the same color. I vote for Tach's purple."

Kisame gave the blond a what-the-hell look. "Why does it matter so much that we all paint our nails the same color? And why purple?"

Deidara looked at Kisame from under his eyelids (you know, when he gets smug and tilts his head back and looks down at you). "Because…because it's all part of being in a group. And organization, if you will. And purple, because no one wants Sasori's red, my black looks depressing on most people, and your teal clashes with Sasori's entire image, my wardrobe and Itachi's hair. It looks great on you, though."

The blue-haired kid stared in disbelief. Okay, it seemed as if Itachi wasn't the only queer one around here. "Er……okay…"

The blond clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled! Purple it is!"

"**We never agreed on that!"**the other three shouted in unison.

"Ah, but you did, my friends, when you did not protest against it!"

"Kisame did protest," Itachi corrected.

Deidara's face bore an expression of irritation. "No, Itachi, he just asked _why. _He never suggested a different color. Therefore, it does not count as protesting," he retorted.

"Why. Does. This. Matter?!" Kisame yelled out, in an attempt to break up an impending fight. "Look, so we paint our nails purple! No big deal! Itachi, your nails are already purple! And Deidara, the purple goes with that black-gothness taste of yours! So it doesn't matter!"

"That's. Not. The point," Itachi replied. "The point is, Dei didn't recognize your protest, so I was pointing it out to him."

The blue-haired kid slapped his forehead. "Itachi, some battles aren't worth fighting. This is one of those battles." He turned to Sasori. "You got a say in this?" he asked the redhead.

Sasori shook his head. "Nope," he replied. "I just like watching those two argue. It's a losing battle on both sides, and they're both too dense to see it. It's hilarious."

"We are NOT dense!" the two boys with long hair hissed at the same time.

"Oh, really? Then why are you arguing about nail polish? That seems pretty dense to me," the redhead said in a smartass tone.

"We aren't arguing anymore," Deidara retorted.

"Yeah, but you're about to start again once I stop talking!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Itachi leaned in towards Kisame. "Those two have fallen for each other," he whispered.

"Yeah," the other boy agreed, nodding. "They fight just like a married couple."

--

Soon after the two guys' repetitive argument, the group departed, but not before Deidara could give them all assignments of what to being to the meeting that next Friday.  
"Itachi, you bring all the purple nail polish you have. Kisame, you bring a video camera. Danna, you make sure the DVD player in your basement is working, and I'll being the movie. Yeah?"

"One question," Itachi cut in. "What's the group going to be called?"

The blond shrugged. "I 'unno. I thought that you guys would want to decide that par-"

"Akatsuki," Sasori stated.

"What?"

"Akatsuki. That's what the group is going to be called. The Japanese word for 'dawn.' Gentle meaning, masculine pronunciation. It's prefect," the redhead finished.

Itachi closed his eyes. "I like that," he practically purred.

"Nice ring to it, I guess…" Kisame agreed.

"So, I guess, from now on," Deidara said enthusiastically, "we're Akatsuki!"

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Ugh, what is it with me and all this dialogue? For some reason, it bothers me…

Oh well, is it just me, or does Dei remind you of Ayame Sohma from Fruits Basket? Yuki's big brother? Maybe it's just me…

Reviews help Itachi and Deidara argue less.


	8. First Meeting

Update. Yay. Well, my goal is to have this story all published by the end of summer, and since it's almost August, that deadline is fast approaching. And, since isn't sending out emails about updates (or, at least, I haven't been getting any), I hope all you readers out there will get all of the chapters read eventually.

And anyone know the song "March of the Dogs" by Sum 41? I've been listening to that like crazy…and I don't own Youtube, nor do I own Monty Python.

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Kisame tentatively knocked on Itachi's door. It had been almost a week since Deidara had had that 'surprise party' for him, and the blue-haired kid was feeling guilty about giving Itachi the drums when he knew that Uchiha-san would never allow them. He had come to apologize.

A tall, kind-looking woman with the exact same shade of black hair as Itachi's opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked sweetly.

"Er, yes…I came to apologize for a week ago…"Kisame answered with downcast eyes.

A smile graced the woman's lips. "Oh, you're Kisame, aren't you? Itachi said that you might stop by today. Come in; I'm his mother, if you haven't guessed."

The boy nodded. "Yes, er…okay…"

--

"I'm sorry, but Itachi can't talk right now," the mother said, as she and Kisame came into the house. "He's studying. Would you like something to drink?"

Kisame shook his head. "No, I'm good," he replied, as he began exploring Itachi's house with greater interest than he had had during the birthday fiasco. The house was so…_clean._ And orderly. It did NOT look like two boys under the age of 18 lived here.

Shortly after, a short, black-haired kid ran past Kisame. "Mother, when is Brother's study session going to be over?" he asked in the same voice that the older kid had heard over-the-phone on Sunday.

"Soon, Sasuke. 15 minutes, tops. Anyways, while you're waiting, why don't you say hello to Itachi's friend over there?" she replied, gesturing towards Kisame.

Sasuke padded over to where Kisame was standing. "Are you Kisame?" he asked innocently.

"The one and only," he replied. "And that makes you Sasuke. Right?"

"Yup. Lucky for you Father's not home," the little kid stated. "Hey, are you aware that you're blue?"

Kisame sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm aware."

Sasuke nodded. "Oh, that's good. Hey, while we're waiting for Brother, I can show you something I made. Want to see?" he asked, looking up at the (much) taller kid standing in front of him.

"Sure, why not?" the older boy answered with a shrug.

--

Sasuke had led Kisame all around the house until he stopped in someone's bedroom. Adorning the walls were posters of various alternative rock bands (Nickelback, Green Day, Simple Plan, etc.), and in the corner there was a small desktop computer.

"This is Brother's room," Sasuke warned, "so we have to be careful what we touch." He walked over to the computer and booted it up. "Come over here," he instructed. "I can't play the sound too loud."

Kisame did what he was told. "So, what are you showing me?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Just watch," the younger boy said, opening up a video file, which immediately began playing on the MTP.

Soon, music began playing, and anime images rolled across the screen as part of the movie. It was similar to the videos that one could find on Youtube.

It portrayed a silver-haired girl with cat ears of some sort. She was acting to fit the music; when the lyrics said something about blood on their hands, it showed her lying there, covered in blood. When the lyrics began talking about ripping out something for your soul, it showed her sitting there, coughing up blood and holding her blood-stained shirt around where her heart should be. When the movie finished, credits rolled and a different song played.

Sasuke paused the video. "So, what do you think? I made it myself. It's an AMV from my favorite anime, _Oukami no Kokoro." _

Kisame's jaw dropped. "Wasn't that a little dark, though? You're what, eight?"

"Seven and a half," the little kid corrected. "And I don't think it was that dark. See, in the anime, there's this girl, who's a half-wolf-demon, and she falls in love with one of her friends. But, when he finds out that he's actually an angel, he's told that he has to fight her and kill her. And so, a battle eventually commences, and she doesn't fight back because she doesn't want to hurt him. So, for an entire episode, she's on the ground, bleeding. It's so depressing, but she gets out of it and- well, I'll stop there. You don't care."

"Hm, okay, but where'd you get that music? What was that, HIM or something?"

"I dunno. I found it on Brother's computer one day."

"Well," the blue kid started, "that was a very good video. I'd love to see what you make later on, after you've had some experience."

Sasuke beamed. "Thanks! I wish Father was as supportive as you," he said.

"What? Your dad doesn't like your video?"

"He doesn't know I make them," the younger boy said sadly. "He's always so hyped-up about Itachi most of the time, he's never actually accepted my invitation to come and watch it."

The older boy sighed. "And that's why you hate your brother," he concluded. "Because your dad focuses on him most of the time."

"I don't hate him," he replied, shutting down the desktop. I just act like I do around him, because…I'm jealous, I guess. I mean, Brother's everything: good-looking, smart, articulate…it's like I'll never live to him."

"Well, just don't dwell on it, okay?" Kisame said with a smile. "Your brother really doesn't want all that attention, y'know. He'd rather be a normal kid who can play the drums and be nice to his little bro without having everything expected of him."

Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, but that won't change what Father thinks of me…or what Brother thinks…"

Kisame put his hand on Sasuke's head. "Look, you're a _kid. _No one expects you to be more than that, okay?"

The younger boy nodded, obviously understanding what Kisame had just said. "Okay," he agreed. "Thanks, Kisame."

"No prob." _It looks like Itachi isn't the only one who has concerns about expectations._

------

On Friday, Kisame arrived at Sasori's house with his video camera in hand. Knocking on the door, he began to wonder why Deidara had asked him to bring a camcorder in the first place.

Sasori answered the door. "Hey, Kisame," he said welcomingly. "Once again, you're the last to arrive. Never mind, everyone else is downstairs."

Kisame went into the basement to find that it had been totally redecorated, so that it resembled more of a living room than anything else. A TV, a couch, a coffee table and apparently a PS2 was set up, with Deidara and Itachi sitting on the couch tapping away at game controllers.

Five minutes after the blue-haired kid had arrived, Deidara noticed. Turning to his friend, he lashed his arms out to their respective sides and yelled, "Hello, Kisame!!" as loud as he possibly could.

Unfortunately for Itachi, Dei was holding the game controller in his left hand, and Itachi, who happened to be sitting to Dei's left, got hit in the eye. "Ow! Dei, what the hell was THAT for?!" he screamed.

The blond muttered his apologies, and continued with the game. "Best two outta three!" he yelled, as he lost (again).

Itachi rolled his good eye. "Dei, it's been 'best two outta three' for six times already. Give it up, you're not going to be able to beat me."

"NEVER!" Deidara shouted, pushing the buttons extra hard now. "I will NOT lost to some Uchiha pretty-boy!"

"Oh, you're the one to talk. You're just as 'pretty' as I am, if not more so," Itachi retorted.

"NO!"

Sasori turned to Kisame, who was still standing by the stairs. "As you can see, it's been a very productive meeting," he said sarcastically.

Kisame turned on his video camera. "And what are we going to use _this _for?" he asked, playing around with the settings.

"Oh, we are going on an ex-pi-di-SHONE!" Dei exclaimed, throwing the PS2 controller onto the ground. "Into the unknowns of Danna's closet!"

"Are you serious?" Itachi asked, in a what-the-fuck tone.

"Of COURSE I'm serious! Everyone knows that Danna's closet is full of mystical wonders!" the blond replied.

Kisame gave Deidara a confused look. "Uh, like…his…clothes?" he asked.

Dei rolled his eyes. "Danna doesn't keep _clothes _in his closet. Who does THAT anymore?"

Both Itachi and Kisame raised their hands.

The blond stuck his tongue out. "Well, Danna doesn't do that. I'll show you, if one of you wants to be the reporter."

"THE REPORTER?! So you're just going to invade my closet to make a fake news story?!" Sasori scream-asked.

Deidara nodded vigorously. "Yup."

--

It turned out that Sasori _did _have 'mystical wonders' locked away in his closet. In place of clothes, puppets adorned the walls, with shelves containing jars pull of liquid towards the top.

"Don't open those," Sasori warned. "They're poison. Acidic poison."

Kisame kept the camera rolling. "What do you need acidic poisons for? It's not like you're a mercenary or something."

Deidara began playing with a puppet. "Well, he needs them to go with basic antidotes. Duh. (A 'base' is something that isn't acidic at all. In other words, it's the opposite of acid.) Why do you keep poison in your closet, though? You'd think it would be better kept in the refrigerator."

The redhead laughed. "Yeah, haven't you noticed that Grandma Chiyo isn't what she used to be? If I kept them in the fridge, she'd probably mistake them for milk or something and put them into a cake or whatever," he explained. "Besides, most of them need to be kept warm, anyways."

The blond put the puppet back. "Oh. Okay," he half-whispered for no apparent reason. "We're done, guys."

--

Kisame turned off the camera as they headed downstairs. "So, what do you plan on doing with this footage?" he asked Dei.

"Oh, it's just tradition," he replied. "Every three months, Danna and I make a home video of something stupid: my room, the park, and most recently, his closet. Then, I put it on Youtube for laughs. Nothing really special."

"Oh…"

--

Itachi unscrewed the four purple nail polish bottles he had brought on the coffee table. Almost instantly, Deidara gagged.

"Woah! Nail polish fumes!" he yelled out, hands over the bottom half of his face. "Tach, is this revenge of some sort? Cuz if it is, YOU'RE DEAD!!"

The black-haired boy blinked. "NO. If you open them all at once, you'll get used to the smell faster. Trust me," he replied.

"Used to it or not, it still reeks!" he yelled again.

"Dei, we're right next to you. You don't need to scream," Sasori scolded.

The blond let out a 'hmph.' "Fine. Let's just start nail-painting, okay? Lord knows you have to put on at least three coats of the stuff."

"I don't think it's your place to complain," Itachi snapped, touching up his already-purple nails. "you're the one who picked the purple in the first place." With that statement, an argument over whether Deidara was right to complain or not ensued between the two long-haired members. Sasori and Kisame, disturbed by the fact that the other two even _bothered _with stupid bouts like this, started painting. Why waste time listening to those two bicker, anyway?

After the fight was settled (Sasori had to break it up after a few minutes), Deidara popped in the movie that he had brought. "Hope you guys like comedies," he said, pushing the 'PLAY' button on the DVD remote.

"And what, dear child, are we watching _this _time?" Sasori asked, preoccupied with his hands.

"My super-awesome all-time favorite movie, _Monty Python and the Holy Grail, _that's what. And, no, Danna, COCONUTS DO NOT MIGRATE," the blond replied, saying the last part in a perfectly executed British accent.

"But, how could a 5-ounce bird carry a one-pound coconut?" Sasori asked in reply, also in a British accent.

"Easy. They take two trips," Dei retorted.

_Wow, _Kisame thought, listening to the blond and the redhead argue using lines from a movie. _What a crackfest I've gotten myself into. _

------

The movie ended somewhere around 10:30, and Deidara, Kisame and Itachi were promptly kicked out by Sasori's beloved Grandma Chiyo. No sleepovers today.

Despite the rude gesture, the trio was in a mutual happy mood when heading home. Nothing like watch a killer rabbit take down half of a knight's traveling party to raise your spirits.

And so ended the first Akatsuki meeting.

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Woot. Don't you just adore Dei? How fun is he? XD

Reviews help Sasori convince his grandmother to give him a later curfew.


	9. Suicide

Oh. Em. Gee. Another update in less than 24 hours. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "God, doesn't this crazy, wacko teen shonen-ai fan ever sleep?" Well, yes, I do, just at night. Lol

Anyways, I can almost guarantee that peoples are going to hate me even more for what I do in this chappy. Oh well, 'tis my mind for ya.

And, I don't own "Holes." That book belongs to Louis Sachar, and the movie belongs to the people who made it.

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A few weeks went by, and Akatsuki was going strong. Every Friday night, the foursome would get together in Sasori's basement and do different activites (DDR tournaments, staring contests, inevitable debates), following with a movie and their signature nail paint job. Needless to say, they had fun with each other.

But, at the latest meeting, Kisame couldn't help but notice that something was extremely wrong with Dei. The normally bubbly, easy-going blond was abnormally quiet and introverted. He was also wearing a sweatshirt and heavy long pants, even though it was May and warm out. And, even though he had been given plenty of chances, he hadn't argued with Itachi all night. Even when the raven-haired kid began to criticize his clay sculptures, the blond made no comeback.

Sasori apparently noticed this, too, because he began doting on the other boy. The redhead's voice lost its commanding undertone when talking to Deidara, too, as if Dei was a fragile being that even the slightest demand would shatter.

Worried, Kisame pulled the blond over as the group left like they normally did.

"Deidara, something's up. I know it. You haven't argued with Itachi all night, even though you had plenty of chances. You haven't said or yelled out anything random yet, and come to think of it, you really haven't said anything. What gives?" Kisame demanded to know, as he grabbed Deidara's left shoulder and pulled him off his normal course home.

The blond limply went with Kisame's action, letting the slight tug control his movements. Stumbling, he held his chest and breathed heavily. "K-Kisame, what the hell was that for?" he asked in a frail tone.

The other boy's expression was cross. "I demand an explanation," he stated firmly.

As his breathing regulated, Deidara looked up at Kisame (who was a bit taller than he was). "There's. Nothing up," he replied, his words uneven. "I…swear. I'm just tired. Okay?"

"Not okay," Kisame retorted, pointing to the shoulder that he had just grabbed. There was a red stain growing, exactly where the blue kid had grabbed the blond, through the think fabric of the sweatshirt.

Deidara, noticing the blood, held his arm below the shoulder and gave Kisame a rebellious, sad, angry look. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M FINE!" he yelled, running home.

Standing there, speechless, Kisame's mind swirled with possibilities. _Something's not right, _became his mantra as he walked home in thought.

------

Kisame slept through most of his morning classes that Monday. Aside from them being as boring as watching mold form, he hadn't slept well the night before. Or the night before. He kept on having the same nightmare, over and over again; the one with a horrifying scream, a gunshot, and blood splattering the walls.

There was, however, one perk to today. Itachi, whose dad had gone on leave once again, had been looking much healthier. The bags under his eyes disappeared, and he seemed a lot less lethargic than before his birthday (or what Deidara has presumed to be his birthday).

And, apparently, this new consciousness that the black-haired kid had gained opened his eyes over Kisame lack of sleep. Knowing that something was bothering him, Itachi decided a confrontation was necessary.

"Alright, what's wrong?" he asked up front, as the two entered the cafeteria.

Kisame yawned. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong," he countered.

Itachi pouted. "Yes, there is. You've been sleeping during class, and when you're not sleeping, you're yawning. Something's going on."

The other boy put his head down when he reached their normal lunch table. "It's nothing, I just had a reoccurring nightmare last night, that's all. Trust me, it's nothing."

"What was it? Dreams have the tendency to prophesize, especially the reoccurring ones," the black-haired kid inquired further.

Kisame rolled his eyes. Sure, whatever. "Well, if it was a prophecy, then it wasn't a very clear one. All it was, basically, was a scream, a gunshot, and blood splattering. It might've been from that movie we watched."

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek. "Kisame, something tells me that the movie _Holes _didn't have anything to do with it. You probably just had too much pizza at the meeting on Friday. Or, you're a psychic. One or the other."

"Personally, the first one makes more sense."

------

The only part of the afternoon that _really _stood out to Kisame was science class, when crazy Mr. Smith actually acted seriously as people walked into the room. This proved that the nutcase had something important to say.

"Okay, people, settle down," he coaxed. "We have something extremely important to talk about today."

Kisame rolled his eyes. _How much can one person say about photosynthesis? _

"There has been a tragic death," the teacher continued. "One of our seventh graders, I'm not saying who, ended his life last night."

The class snapped to attention. It's not every day you get lectured about suicide.

"We are going to talk about the signs of suicide. If someone if planning a suicide, I mean," Mr. Smith continued, turning on an overhead. "First, the person usually stops or avoids interacting with other people, meaning they clam up and shy away at social gatherings." He scribbled something with a marker on the light box in front of him. "Second, they would normally lash out and yell if confronted or if they feel even slightly attacked." _Squik, squik. _"Third, and probably the most important, the tone of their voice changes. Instead of a normal, lighthearted tone, for example, their voice is now frail and unsure," the teacher continued. "If you think that someone around you is planning to-"

Kisame wasn't listening anymore. Deidara had showed all three of those symptoms on Friday. Needless to say, he was scared for the blond.

--

The blue-haired kid was in a haze for the rest of the day. What could he do? If Deidara had started bleeding when he was simply touched, what would happen if he did something drastic? In his state, falling down was a danger.

Heading out the school's front door like he usually did, he heard a familiar monotone that cleared his daze. "Kisame!" Itachi's monotone rang out. "Where are you going? We're staying late to work on our Tech project, remember?"

Kisame snapped out of it. Of course. He and Tach were staying after school to finish up a project that they were working on together. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Coming!" he called back, going to the Tech room.

--

Meticulously sanding a piece of wood, Kisame posed a question for his seemingly uncaring friend. "Uh, Itachi you know at the Akatsuki meeting? Well, did Dei seem a little off to you?"

The black-haired kid glued two pieces of wood together. "Isn't Dei _always _a little off?" he asked in response.

"Well, yeah, but…even more off that he normally is? Ya know, different? Antisocial, even?" Kisame continued.

"Kisame, I think that lecture we had in science must have spooked you or something. Trust me, Dei's fine. He acts like that every so often," Itachi assured.

The other boy sighed. "Okay, if you say so…"

------

Walking home that day, Kisame got a call on his cell phone. Not recognizing the number, he picked it up. "Hello? Kisame here," he said.

Shaking breaths came from the other end of the line. "Y-yeah…Kisa-m-me?" Sasori's voice asked.

"This is. Sasori, how in the good Lord's name did you get my cell phone number?"

"N-never mind that. Listen, Kisame, something huge just happened," the redhead finally got out.

"What?" Kisame asked, knowing that it had to be something both extremely serious and terrible due to Sasori's stuttering.

"Okay, well, um…" his voice trailed off.

"Well, what? Something's up, and now I'm curious. Out with it," the blue-haired boy demanded.

Sasori was finally able to choke it out after a few seconds of silence. "D-Dei just shot himself."

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Le evil cliffhanger! Mwahaha! I've been nice to you guys and haven't done any of these, but now is the time to start, since it wouldn't be a serial fic without a few cliffies.

Oh, I can just picture Hidan reading this and going, "She's not going to do it, she's not going to do it…fuck. She did it." I'm an evil writer. :F

Well, anyways, reviews help Kisame worry less.


	10. Reasons for Death

Okay, peoples, next chapter. Woot! XD Well, I hope you guys like it!

And for the record, if you keep sending me death threats if I don't bring Dei back, I won't post this fic anymore. Understood?

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"What?! Wait, what?" Kisame asked, stunned by what Sasori had just told him.

"Dei just shot himself," the redhead repeated. "I watched him do it." Crying sounds came from the other end of the call. "Kisame, this is too much," he sobbed.

The blue-haired kid was shocked. "Hey, hey, keep yourself together for a bit, okay? Here, meet me in the park in 5 minutes. You'll get through this," he promised.

Sasori sniffled. "As you say," he answered, hanging up.

Kisame, pressing the red phone button on his cell's keypad, sighed. "So, my dream came true after all."

------

When he reached the park, Sasori was sitting on a swing, sweatshirt hood up, staring at the ground and the pattern he was making with his feet in the dirt.

Kisame took a deep breath, and then took up a swing next to Sasori. He said nothing, waiting for the redhead to pull himself together enough to have a conversation.

After a few minutes, Sasori looked up at Kisame. Though if was dark, he could see that the other boy had been crying, since the whites of his eyes were veined and pinkish.

"He apologized," Sasori said his voice cracking.

"What? Who apologized?"

"Dei. He apologized before he shot himself," the redhead explained. "He said that he didn't want to hurt any of us, but it needed to stop."

Kisame tilted his head forward as Sasori began to cry again. "What needed to stop, Sasori? Do you know?" he asked in a soft tone.

Sasori nodded. "Yeah, but it's supposed to be a secret," he replied. "Dei told me not to tell anyone."

"Well, something tells me that he wouldn't mind if you tell me. 'Specially if it helps explain his death." Kisame urged slightly.

It took the other boy a minute to regain his bearings. "Well, he had an abusive father," he started. "He always got beaten if he did something wrong, or if his dad felt like blowing off some steam. The way I found out is a whole other story, but Deidara-kun made me swear not to tell anyone because he didn't want to go into foster care," Sasori choked out. "I guess, just before the Akatsuki meeting, his dad got mad at him and cut him up really bad, and-"

"And I reopened one of his wounds by grabbing his shoulder," Kisame finished.

Sasori nodded again. "Yeah, I guess. And apparently, that beating was the last straw, because Dei goes and does something like this. I…wish I could've stopped it…" he said, holding his head in his hands, sobbing softly.

"Stopped the suicide? Or the beatings?"

"Both." Te redhead began shaking. "You gotta understand, Kisame. Dei is- was- my best friend. And even though I hated seeing him in that much pain, I didn't want to break the promise I made with him, or put him in foster care, where he'd be moving around a lot, and we'd probably never see each other again. I…I…" he burst into tears again, full out.

"Sasori…" Kisame said, trying to console him.

"He did it in front of me…he shot himself in the temple in front of me… the blood, all the blood…seeping for his entire body…I couldn't stop it, I couldn't…" the severely scarred boy began to ramble.

Kisame began to rub circles into Sasori's back. "Please, stop," he crooned. "Crying won't bring Deidara back. All it will do is hurt you more…Sasori, listen, I know it's hard dealing with a death and all that, but wallowing in your sorrows in just going to sting you more than you could ever imagine. Would Dei want that?"

The other kid shook his head. "No, I guess not…"

The blue-haired boy looked up at the setting sun. It's late," he said quietly. "C'mon, I'll escort you home."

The redhead didn't complain.

------

When he himself got home that night, Kisame checked his email. Sure enough, he had a message from Deidara.

The signature yellow-on-black font was there. Some things never change. Kisame also noticed that the message had been forwarded to both Itachi and Sasori. _Oh God, how is this going to blow over with everyone?_ he thought.

**Yo. It's Dei. Yeah, like you needed me to say that. **

**Anyway, I just want to say to all of you that you are probably the best things in my life right now. No doubt about that. But, I can't stand this anymore. **

**My life, that is. **

**See, guys, my dad beats me. HARD. And not just with fits, either; he brings out the Swiss Army knives and golf clubs on almost a daily basis. He's tried to kill me before. And this is the last straw. **

**He had tried to bleed me to death before the Akatsuki meeting. I'm still cut up. And I probably will be still when I go to hell for killing myself. **

**I can't live like this anymore, and as much as I don't want to cause you guys any pain, I don't want to die at the hands of my father, either. **

**So I'll die at the hands of me. **

**I'm sorry. Goodbye. **

**-Azumoji Deidara **

Kisame's jaw dropped. So he _had _left a suicide note.

------

Deidara's funeral service was held that Friday, during the time of which and Akatsuki meeting should have been going on. A fitting touch for the group's founder.

Sasori came, and Kisame dutifully followed. He didn't really like funerals, with everyone in black and such. But, he came anyway, because he knew that Itachi and Sasori would need his support.

This would have proven true, had Itachi been there. Surely he had gotten Dei's email, right? And funeral schedules were published in the newspaper. _Why wouldn't he be here? _Kisame wondered.

The service ended, and surprisingly, Sasori hadn't cried. _I guess he's all cried out from Monday. _

------

The next Monday at school, Itachi hadn't said a word all day. _Mourning, perhaps? _

During band, he kept spacing out during songs. And it was pretty easy to tell, since he led the entire percussion section.

In lunch, he didn't even bother getting food. And, for the first half of the period, he had a serious, blank look on his face. _Contemplating, maybe?_

Finally, Kisame got the guts to ask. "Hey, Itachi, how come you weren't at Dei's funeral? It wasn't on a school night, so…"

Itachi sighed. "I had other things to attend to. But, trust me, if I wasn't busy, I could've and would've gone-"

"But, Itachi, this is a _funeral._ This is the type of thing that you miss other stuff for because it's important. What could you have-"

"Is it any of your business?!" the black-haired kid asked irritably. He put his head down on the table. "I'm guilty for missing his service, okay, but there's nothing I can do now. Okay, Kisame?"

"Okay, I guess…" the other boy reluctantly agreed.

------

The next day, there was an article in the paper that REALLY caught Kisame's attention: YOUNG TEEN BOY HIT BY A COUPLE OF CARS. It read:

_On Monday of this week, it seemed like a normal day for this teen. However, Sasori Akasuna, 13 had no idea what fate had in store for him. While walking home from school, he was hit by two- yes, two- cars when crossing Lilac Street, a normally peaceful road. Coming at him from different direction, he was literally squished between the two cars. He went into comatose a few minutes later, and was declared dead at 11:49 PM at-_

He couldn't read anymore. Sasori had been hit by a car. No, two. _Wow, a double-whammy, _Kisame though dryly. _And another one bites the dust. _

_------_

Sasori's service was held that Thursday, and once again, Itachi didn't show. Kisame was sure that he had heard about the accident, though; he had mentioned it a few times at lunch. _Now what is he doing? _Kisame asked himself. He was sure that Sasori and Itachi were close.

------

The following day, Itachi didn't show up at school. Kisame wasn't too worried, though. Two of his closest friends had died in the span of four days. He would need some time to himself.

Kisame did begin to worry, however, when he got an urgent email from Sasuke (using Itachi's address).

**Kisame! It's Sasuke. **

**Help! Brother is no where to be found. We've looked everywhere, and the school even called us asking where he was since he wasn't excused and hadn't come in. **

**He was depressed about missing his friends' funerals. Please help us look for him, you seem to know him better than any of us! **

Knowing exactly where Itachi was, he left immediately.

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Yes, I know. I'm evil. But like I said, I won't update if I get death threats. Okays, people?

And, FYI, I've started working on another fic like this one, except it follows Dei and Sasori at their school, from the time they meet up until the basketball game. Genius, yeah? Well, it would be SasoDei, instead of KisaIta, and if you guys won't read it, then I won't publish it. Or, I'll publish it simply because there's a spinoff from _THAT_ fic that I really want to get into, with Hidan and Kakuzu! Omg, yes, I know.

And, Itachi only likes positive, non-threatening reviews. And Kisame plays badminton with the negative ones.


	11. Insanity

Ya know, I was rereading over this chappy, and I'm thinking to myself, "God, what a stupid, played-out story! How the hell could I write such crap?!" But, then again, I get that way about just about every fanfiction I write, so it's all good, I think.

Please don't hate me, guys, I know it's a sad story. I love angst and I love sadness, grief, and yaoi/shonen-ai. Don't hold it against me, kay?

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The graveyard in which both Sasori and Deidara were buried had a slight fog hanging over it, adding to the creepiness. Kisame would have normally _never _set foot in a boneyard like this, especially at night. And, if it wasn't for the fact that this was where Itachi was hiding, he wouldn't have started tonight.

Entering the depressing scene, he heard screams of hysterical laughter coming form across the way. Heading toward it, Kisame gulped. Scary laughter, eerie graveyard. Not the best combination.

The closer he got to the laughter, the more familiar it seemed. Bracing himself and turning a corner, he found out why.

Itachi sat on the ground between two headstones, his back against one of them. And he was the one laughing.

The blue-haired kid carefully knelt down next to his friend. "Hey, Itachi," he crooned softly. "Come on, let's take you home."

The other boy's hysterics dwindled, leaving him able to talk. "You're Kisame," he repeated a few times, while drawing squiggles in the dirt with his index finger.

Kisame nodded. "Yes, that's who I am. Now that we're acquainted, let's get you back home, okay?"

Itachi began laughing again, but this time, it was tamer. He looked up at Kisame, with his eyes tearing up. "No," he replied. Even when they were diluted with water, his eyes still shone with unearthlike insanity.

He began rocking back and forth, lifting his back off the gravestone gehind him only to put it back. "This is _his _fault," he whispered. "His and hers…"

Kisame shot Itachi a worried glance. "Whose? Whose fault is it?"

Itachi's shoulders began shaking. "First, the drums," he began to ramble. "Slashed right through the skin. Destroyed them. Unforgivable. And then this: missing two of my best friends' funerals. For what? The sake of studying!" he yelled out, slamming his head against the grave marker.

_So his old mad _made _him miss the funerals. To study. Seems like he doesn't think Itachi does enough of that already, _Kisame said to himself, putting a hand on the top of the black-haired boy's head and tilting it up, so that the only thing that Itachi could look at was Kisame. "Look, Itachi, it's late. Let's get you-"

"NO!" he shrieked, breaking out of Kisame's grasp and crawling away as fast as he could. "Not yet. There's too much to do. I have to be ready."

"Not yet? Whad'dya mean NOT YET?! Itachi, they're worried sick about you, and all you're doing is-" Kisame stopped himself when he noticed Itachi's death glare.

"I'm not ready," the other boy said in a paranoid tone. "I have to be ready to do it." Letting his upper body fall to the ground limply, he began laughing again. "They need to pay," he chanted. "And they will. Both of them, that Satanist father of mine and my puppet mother. But not Sasuke, no. I'll spare him. He's done nothing."

The blue-haired kid approached his friend again, whom of which had moved himself at least five feet away. He was prepared to drag Itachi home if he had to, and he would have had the psycho boy not started throwing up.

Itachi sat up abruptly, and hunched over himself and started regurgitating bile. His friend did what he could to hold back the hair that had fallen out of his usually neat ponytail, but he couldn't do much to soothe the black-haired guy otherwise.

When Itachi's episode had finished, his entire body limpened drastically. Kisame quickly and gently rested his friend up against himself, and leaned Itachi's head back to allow for easier breathing. In a short while, the black-haired kid was asleep.

--

"Kisame…" Itachi whispered about an hour later. "Kisa…me…"

"Yes?" the other kid asked softly, trying to impress on Itachi that he was listening.

The black-haired boy paused for a while. "…I'm almost ready to go home now," he stated, picking himself off of Kisame. 

"Almost ready?"

Itachi gave a small smile as he pressed himself up against Kisame's chest. Locking the other kid's lips into his, he held it there for a while.

Needless to say, Kisame was absolutely stunned. He had known that Itachi was gay, but…this? Is this what he had wanted from day one? Or was it…developed? His mind swirled with possibilities as Itachi pulled out.

"There. Now I'm ready," he said, falling back onto Kisame's chest. "But…my body isn't working like it should, so…"

The other boy let out a grin. "Well, no worries," he answered. "I can carry you." Shouldering one of Itachi's arms, he schlepped (yes, that's a word) the both of them out of the graveyard and toward the Uchiha household.

------

Once again, Itachi didn't show at school the next day. Kisame figured it was because of Itachi's mental breakdown the day before. Too bad that wasn't the case.

On the news that night, there was a strange story. "Two bodies found head in this local house last night," a newscaster streamlined. "The bodies, identified as Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, were found in their own living room, drenched in what is presumed to be their own blood. Their 13-year-old son, Itachi, is currently missing, as they have not found any evidence that he was ever involved with this entire thing. Luckily, their youngest son, Sasuke, was physically unharmed afterward. This mysterious mur-"

Kisame turned off the T.V. before the reporter could finish. _Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, _he repeated in his head. _Itachi's parents. And he himself is missing. Could he have…no, Itachi would never do something as moronic and violent as that. Right? _He asked himself, laying down on the couch that faced his T.V. _Oh, this is bad. Four deaths, five days. Hardly a good rati-_

A slammed door interrupted Kisame's though. Sitting up, he heard footsteps coming from the other side of his house. Utterly afraid, he reached for the cell phone in his pocket. He really hoped that this person wasn't who he thought it was.

His fears came true, however, when he heard chuckling coming form behind the couch in his living room. "Hello, oh dearest son of mine," a familiar voice purred.

Kisame's heart skipped a beat when he recognized his father's voice. "Uh, hello…" he replied uncertainly.

The air's temperature seemed to drop about 10 degrees Celsius. "I have finally found you, yet again," the man said, wrapping one of his huge hands around Kisame's neck from behind. "And, now it's time for you to repent," he said, tightening his grip.

_**BAM. BAM. BAM. **_

Three gunshots were heard, and Kisame's dad's hold on his son's throat let up as he fell to the ground. Kisame, still digesting what had just happened, turned around to see a figure, shrouded in shadows, pointing a revolver at where his dad had just been standing. "You're welcome," a monotone said.

Stepping out of the dark and lowering his gun, Itachi's eyes bounced from his friends' fear, confusion-stricken face, to the bloody corpse on the floor, and back. Sighing, he took the gun in his other hand. "Now you won't live in terror anymore," he explained. "Now you can stay here and never be maliciously uprooted again. You can live like a normal teenager. Is that cool or what?" the black-haired boy said, loading another bullet into the gun. "It's a real shame that I won't be joining you."

_**BAM. **_

Itachi's body fell loosely onto the floor, and the revolver made a small _ch-chnk _sound as it hit the ground.

Kisame stared in horror at what had just happened. _Woah. Did all that just happen? I KNEW I shouldn't have told Itachi all that…_

_------_

Itachi never had a service. The fact that he murdered both his parents and Kisame's father prevented that. But, Kisame almost preferred it that way. So now, no one would see him cry.

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Oh my God. Fugaku SO derserved that. Too bad Itachi went insane on us, yeah? Well, please don't kill me, I'm bad at writing insanity, and I'm bad at writing violence. This entire chapter was my basic Achilles' heel.

Save us both some trouble and don't review until you've read Chapter 12, okay? I promise you, this story will be MUCH better after that.


	12. Hold Out For Me

Last chappy! Yay! I think, at least, cuz I'm sure all of you absolutely despise me right now, except Angelas…she's been through it all and hasn't cussed at me yet. Yay, Angelas-chan!

Anywho, this chapter takes place about 5 years later. Okay? Timeskips ish good. Got it?

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"Hey, Kisame! Where should I put this?" a tall, thin guy with slicked-back white hair called out, carrying a huge box.

Kisame, now 18, came down a staircase behind the man. "Just anywhere," he replied. "They're linens, they won't break."

The other guy nodded. "Okay," he said, heading out the front door.

The blue-haired man sighed. Even with Hidan helping him, packing for college was extremely stressful and hassling. Not to mention annoying.

Going back up the carpeted staircase, his mind wandered with thought. _Okay, I got the linens, the toiletries, my laptop…so why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?_ He contemplated, as his shoulder clumsily hit the side of a doorway.

Rubbing his shoulder, Kisame heard a 'fwip' and a ruffle. Looking down, he saw a folded piece of Xerox paper on the floor. Confused, hi picked it up and meticulously unfolded it. Realizing that it was _his _handwriting, he read:

_Lessons of a lifetime, learned in a day. Everything, right now, is fleeting._

_With a push of a button you can change a life, with your name scratched onto the bullet's side. _

_Balancing on a blade's edge, our existence is fragile. _

_The inevitable, the destined, has left me a shell. My essence has ebbed away completely. Nothing left to love, yet nothing left to hurt. _

_The altered world we live in now is just as tainted as before; if anything, you've helped purify it. _

_Giving in to my emotion, I scream it out-_

_COME BACK. _

Kisame blinked. He didn't remember writing this. And since when was he this philosophical and dark? It wasn't until he read the postscript that he understood.

_R.I.P. Uchiha Itachi_

_You will be greatly missed. _

He sighed. It seemed that he had written the poem after Itachi had died- killed himself- in the eighth grade. No wonder he didn't remember. All he could recall from that time period was the harsh emotions of extreme shock, sadness, loneliness, and grief. As his eyes softened, he realized he had an obligation to fulfill. Without a second thought, he ran out the door.

"Hey! Where the fuck do you think you're going?!" Hidan yelled, putting numerous boxes into a truck while the other guy was running down the street.

"I have to do something," he answered. "I'll be back in a few minutes, tops."

Hidan groaned. "Well, then hurry the hell up."

------

The graveyard's gate creaked open, and Kisame let himself inside. It was rather sunny out today, and no fog, so it was much less scary than his first visit here.

Pacing around, he glanced around the yard for the familiar headstones that belonged to his deceased friends. Finally, he found them (luckily they were in very close proximity of each other).

Standing in the middle of the triangle that the gravestones made, Kisame closed his eyes and listened to the wind, which seemed to whisper in his friend's voices.

"_Long time no see. How ya been, Kisame-kun?" _Deidara's voice seemed to echo in the stillness.

"_Dude, I can't _tell _you how boring it is up here," _Sasori's dull tone murmured.

"Oh, my God," the live man said aloud. "You guys…it's been lonely without you, y'know…"

The distant jingle of wind chimes sounded. _I'm sorry, Kisame,_ Itachi's monotone whispered. _"Insanity got the best of me. But please, just keep holding out. Keep on going, for me- us."_

Kisame nodded. "You got it."

------

On the road, Hidan drove. Kisame decided that he had too much to think about.

"You okay?" the white-haired man asked, about a half-hour into the drive. "You haven't said a word for the entire ride."

Kisame watched as the trees and roadsigns swished passed through the truck's window. "Oh, I guess not," he replied distantly, shifting his attention to the clouds. "Actually, I've been conversing with Tach."

Hidan took his eyes off the road for a second to give the blue guy a what-the-hell-did-you-take-your-meds-this-morning look. "Uh, okay…whatever you gotta tell yourself."

The other man wasn't listening; he was too preoccupied with the clouds. Watching the sun shine through the slight gap, he heard drums in the distance…

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Le end. Hope ya liked it. I know this last chappy was kind of short, but it wrapped everything up nicely, in my opinion. Short, drabbly and almost obnoxiously sweet. That's what I like the most. XD

Okay, now you guys can review. And please do so, I really want to know what you thought of this story as a whole.

Just keep in mind that Dei, Sasori and Itachi are always with Kisame, watching him from heaven. Or whatever afterlife you believe in. Whatever have you.


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